The Tip of the Iceberg
by scribeofruse
Summary: One epic bet. Two boys, one girl. Nora Knutson, prepare to have your heart melted. High School AU with Genderbends. Den/Fem!Nor/Ice... sort of.
1. 1: In Which Søren is Bored

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Uh, the whole world? Or something like that.  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> Hooboy, it's quite the list. Let's just stick with Denmark/Fem!Norway and Iceland/Fem!Norway. Final pairing will be Ice/Fem!Nor. If you don't like it, then... well. You've got a while.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M. It's high school, and I'm portraying it as realistically as possible while still making it story-shaped. So yeah, M.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> High School AU? Romance, for sure.  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>LANGUAGE. Genderbending. Language. Denmark and Netherlands being bros. Oh, did I mention language?

Read and Review, please! It makes me feel loved.

_**Chapter 1: in which Søren is Bored**_

* * *

><p>"I'm bored," Søren whined, flopping over onto the couch while glaring the TV, as if it was the main cause of his boredom.<p>

"And what the hell do you want me to do about it?" Lars asked, staring at his _Portal 2 _walkthrough in frustration.

"I don't know. Entertain me, or something."

"Hell no! Call 'Sia and have her do it."

"I said I was bored, you ass. Besides, I _can't_. Eli threatened to chop my balls off if I ever touched her again."

"Fucking sucks to be you, then."

"Shut up, asshole. I don't see you getting any, either."

"Yeah, 'cause I won't let you watch, dumbass."

"Oh, really, then? What's her name?"

"Madeline Williams."

"… Who the fuck is that?"

"Hipster girl, blonde hair, violet eyes, plays hockey…"

"And, I repeat, who the fuck is that?"

"Jones' sister."

"Are you fucking _crazy?_"

"No, I'm fucking Maddie, you douche."

"Well, fine. Be that way. I won't mourn you when you're dead."

"Pfff, like Jones could kill me. He's too busy chasing after Morgan and Anya to even begin focusing on who's fuckin' his sister."

"… Is he suicidal? Even I won't go near them."

"Shows your questionable taste, if you ask me. Didn't you used to have a crush on Morgan?"

"_I was six. Fucking drop it already._"

"Yeah, sure. You know what they say, though, you never forget your first love~" Lars teased, moving his player around on the screen.

"If that's the case, shouldn't you still be crushing on Anita?" Søren shot back.

Lars hit the pause button and turned around slowly. "I thought you swore never to bring that up again."

"I don't remember that…" Søren said teasingly, grinning widely at him.

"Well, I fucking do. Never bring it up again."

"Pfff, whatever, man. You're just pissed because she fell for a younger man."

"_I fucking said to drop it, Søren,_" Lars hissed through gritted teeth, clenching the controller so hard his knuckles were white.

"Okay, okay, god, don't get all pissy at me," Søren halfway apologized. "Anyway, I'm still bored."

"Not my problem. Call Marion, then, if you're so desperate."

"I said I was bored, not horny!"

"Equates to the same thing in your book, doesn't it?" Lars asked him.

"… Fuck you, man."

"Taking that as a yes, bro. So call Marion. She'll… _entertain_ you plenty."

"I'm not that desperate for a fuck," Søren scoffed.

"What about Katya? She likes you," Lars suggested.

"As glorious as her tits are, her siblings both hate my guts. So, thanks, but no thanks. I like my innards the way they are."

"True. I wouldn't go up against Anya or Nikolai any day. Speaking of… what about Anya?"

"That crazy bitch? No way. Wouldn't do her if she paid me."

"… Then, that Aussie kid. What's-er-face."

"Amanda? She's from New Zealand, for starters. And she's dating Jake Bruce."

"Well, I'm out. Unless…"

"Unless what?"

Lars looked at him seriously. "Nora Knutson."

_Nora_. Even just hearing her name sent shivers down Søren's spine. "The Ice Queen? Nuh-uh, no way, man. I like my balls where they are."

"No, no, hear me out. I've heard around school – if you can melt her heart, you win ridiculous cash. I heard it was over $800, or something. People have been betting on it for years. I hear Berwald nearly won, too."

That alone was enough to make Søren start. "_Berwald_? Seriously? Before or after he went fag on everybody?"

"Before. Rumour has it that she's the one that turned him gay."

"… I need to thank her. She gave me leverage on him for the rest of eternity."

"Well, maybe you can thank her in your own special way," Lars suggested, waggling his eyebrows.

"… Yeah, maybe I will," Søren grinned, laying down on the couch and dreaming up exactly what he'd do with that 800 bucks.

_Nora Knutson, prepare to have your heart melted._

* * *

><p>So, uh, hi guys. Yeah, it's time for a new story.<p>

BEFORE YOU ASK: Yes, I'm still working on the Doctor Who crossover. It'll still be a bit, and I'm sorry.

And now, for the key as to who's who!

Søren Nortung: Denmark  
>Lars Hijink: Netherlands<br>'Sia (Prussia Beilschmidt): Fem!Prussia (Her name is actually "Maria", but she hasn't gone by that since she was old enough to have seen "The Sound of Music". So, since she was about 7.) It's pronounced "Shah".  
>Eli (Héderváry_: Mangary<br>Madeline Williams: Fem!Canada  
>Morgan (Kirkland): Igiko<br>Anya (Anastasya Braginskaya): Fem!Russia  
>Anita (Fernandez Carriedo): Fem!Spain<br>Marion (Bonnefoy): Fem!France (Had to round out the BTT, after all.)  
>Katya (Yekaterina Braginskaya): Ukraine<br>Amanda (Thomas): New Zealand  
>Nora Knutson: Fem!Norway<p>

Yeah. In case it wasn't obvious: I like genderbends. If you don't, then just... go away, or something.

Thanks for reading this far! Please review. Reviews make me feel warm and fuzzy.


	2. 2: In Which Eirik Has Competition

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Uh, the whole world? Or something like that.  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> Hooboy, it's quite the list. Let's just stick with Denmark/Fem!Norway and Iceland/Fem!Norway. Final pairing will be Ice/Fem!Nor. If you don't like it, then... well. You've got a while.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M. It's high school, and I'm portraying it as realistically as possible while still making it story-shaped. So yeah, M.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> High School AU? Romance, for sure.  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Not as many this round. Still some language, mentions of genderbends.

Read and Review, please! It makes me feel loved.

**_Chapter Two: In which Eirik Discovers He Has More Competition_**

* * *

><p><strong>To: Iceman44<strong>

**From: Michael . Wang97**

You have more competition in your Quest for Nora's Heart. New contender's name is Søren Nortung. He's 6'2", with blond spiky hair and blue eyes. Pool's been upped to $950. You might consider actually making a move soon. He looks like he might actually have promise.

- Michael

**To: Michael . Wang97  
><strong>

**From: Iceman44  
><strong>

… Never call it that again. At least make it sound macho, like "Operation Heatstorm" or something. "Quest for Nora's Heart" sounds gayer than a double rainbow all the way across the sky.

He does sound like he's her type, though. Fuck it all.

Shit, though. $950? That's enough to get me to the halfway point. Parents will finally get me my car when I get that money.

Thanks for the info, man. I owe you big time when this is all over.

- Eirik

**To: Iceman44**

**From: 97**

Like "Operation Heatstorm" is any better. Seriously, Alfred Jones could come up with a better name than that.

Exactly. Make your move before he does. Then you can get that Mustang, and woo Nora even further.

You do owe me. Payment will be determined after you win the girl.

Go get her, tiger.

- Michael

* * *

><p>All right, so. I know it's really short, and I'm sorry for that. Chapter 3 is in the works now.<p>

Michael Wang: Hong Kong (Still iffy on my characterization of HK. GAAAAH why Asia why.)

The email addresses are NOT REAL. Both are supposed to be gmail based.

Review, please! 


	3. 3: In Which Nora is Angry

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Uh, the whole world? Or something like that.  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> Hooboy, it's quite the list. Let's just stick with Denmark/Fem!Norway and Iceland/Fem!Norway. Final pairing will be Ice/Fem!Nor. If you don't like it, then... well. You've got a while.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M. It's high school, and I'm portraying it as realistically as possible while still making it story-shaped. So yeah, M.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Still some language, genderbends. Nora being a sarcastic bitch.

Read and Review, please! It makes me feel loved.

**_Chapter Three: in Which Nora is Angry_**

* * *

><p>Nora was angry. <em>Beyond<em> angry. Which, granted, was not an atypical feeling for her to feel, but today was especially bad.  
>It had started with people being idiotic. Specifically boys. Which had eventually led to her math teacher getting angry and giving them all the homework for the next two days, instead of just a few problems at a time. Then her English teacher had told them the rough draft of their paper was due tomorrow, instead of on Friday. Her history teacher gave her class another section to read out the book, and Ms. Karpusi, the art teacher, had told Nora that she wanted another painting to put in the art show next Wednesday.<p>

And then, on top of all of this, a rumour was flying around school – one that said that Nora had a new suitor.

_More like a new _stalker, she thought irritably. The boy – well, if he could even be called that, at over six feet in height – had been following her _all fucking day_, like a pathetic little lost puppy dog.

She assumed that the guy was only following her around to find out what made her tick. Well, bad news, guy: her poker face was more legendary than Lady Gaga's. There was no way to get inside her head just by following her around. And he was only doing _that _to try and win the money, she just _knew_ it.

Contrary to popular belief, she knew all about the pool. Rumour had it that the first guy to try his luck with her (James Kirkland) had started the pool, and that each guy who gave it a shot had to give $50 to it.

Rumour had it wrong. _She_ had started it, on her dad's request (before he'd died). The part about the $50 per guy was true, though. If he wanted her badly enough, that money would be worth it.

The thing was, she'd started the whole thing as kind of (sort of, not really) a joke back in freshman year. She really hadn't meant for anyone to take it seriously. Three years and $900 later, it had really spiraled out of control. _Beyond_ out of control. And there had only been one serious contender in all that time – Berwald Oxenstierna. Except he'd ended up being gayer than a treeful of monkeys on Nitrous Oxide (and she still, to this day, felt as though she'd turned him that way).

She sighed in irritation as she spun her locker combination and opened her locker.

"Hey, you're Nora, right?" a loud, very male voice asked from directly behind her, causing her to jump in the air and whip around to face whoever it was that was talking to her.

Oh. Stalker boy. Great. He was good looking, at least, with spiky blond hair and bright, energetic blue eyes.

"Depends on who's asking," she muttered, pulling her blue trench coat out of her locker and pulling it on, pulling her long, dirty blonde hair out of the collar.

"Well, I'm asking. So you're Nora?"  
>She sighed and nodded, playing along for the meantime.<p>

"Awesome. Professor Wang asked me to find you," he said excitably.

"… He did?" she asked warily, adjusting her backpack as it fell down her shoulder.

"Yeah. Y'see, I'm kind of failing his class –" _Oh, great, he's an idiot_, she thought irritably, "And I kind of need a tutor. He recommended you, because you were the best he's ever had or somethin'."

"Yes, I was. Not that I'm bragging or anything." _Except that I totally am. _Please_ go away, _she mentally begged.

"S'okay, it's pretty braggable, from what I understand. So, are you available to tutor me? I'd be willing to pay you."

Ooh. He was _desperate_. Excellent. It made things that much easier. "How much are we talking here?"

"Like, $10 per session? I dunno. You'll have to negotiate that with my 'rents."

"I'll think about it," she sighed.

"Awesome! I'll give you my number, okay? Then you can text me with your answer or somethin'," he said excitedly, pulling out a sharpie and grabbing her left hand.

"W-what are you doing?" Nora protested, trying to pull her hand back. That was her dominant hand, what the hell did he think he was _doing_?

"Uh, writing down my number," he said, looking at her like she was crazy or something. "How're you supposed to call me if you don't have my number? For someone who's supposed to be pretty smart, you're kinda dumb."

"I am not!" She bristled, offended. "Can't you just use paper, like a civilized human being?"

"Nope. This way you can't claim you lost my number, y'see?" He told her as he wrote down his name and number on her hand, smiling brightly the whole time. "Call me when you've got your answer, yeah? I'll see you around."

She stared at him, slightly awestruck, as he walked away. This was an entirely new approach, and she wasn't quite sure how to take it. She stared down at her hand after he had rounded the corner and out of sight. It now read "Søren Nortung" in blocky capital letters, with his number written messily below that.

Well. This was going to be… interesting, to say the least.

* * *

><p>"Nora, honey! Eirik's here," Nora's mother called up the stairs.<p>

"Just send him up, mom! I'm busy," Nora yelled back down, breaking her intense staring competition (also known as working on her English paper) with her computer screen momentarily.

Eirik clomped up the stairs and into Nora's room, flopping down onto her bed and dropping his backpack and another bag of his stuff onto her floor, his long, pale blonde hair flopping into his violet eyes as he did so.

"Planning on going somewhere, are we?" Nora asked him, resuming her battle.

"Uh, here?" He said, not bothering to get back up. "My parents are fighting again. I thought I'd get out of there before it got really ugly and I got dragged in."

"Why not go over to Michael's place, then?"

"Yong Soo's back from college, and has apparently learned even stranger things while there."

She winced in sympathy. "Makes sense. You wanna stay here tonight, or are you going to sneak back into your house later?" she asked, taking a sip of the mug of coffee she had on her desk.

"Stay here, please. Your house is so much better than mine."

"Of course it is. You have my blessing to stay here, on one condition."

Eirik sighed. "What homework am I doing for you?"

"Math. Section 5.2, problems 1-30, please and thank you."  
>Another sigh. "All right. I'll do it. But only because I love you so much. Want me to teach you how to do it later?"<p>

"No, I know how to do it. I just don't want to."

"Bitch," Eirik whined, reaching over and grabbing her math book and notebook. "Are you gonna copy it over, or do I have to do it in your handwriting?"

"My handwriting, please. I've got a paper due tomorrow, plus an art project and a history reading."

"Mm, fun. Plus another guy to date, on top of all of that."

"How do you even _know_ about that? I was only just approached today."

"Michael has ninja squirrels. He uses them to gather info. Also, his number is on your hand."

"I'm not even going to ask about the squirrels. I'll go down ask my mom if you can stay overnight, and get some more coffee while I'm at it."

"Addict," he accused, not bothering to look up from her math book.

"And your point is…?"

"It's probably why you're so short," he smirked, looking up at her with an evil gleam in his eye.

"_I am not short!" _she shrieked, throwing a shoe at him on her way out.

* * *

><p>No notes this time around... which is weird, for me.<br>Thanks for the reviews, guys! I'm glad you all like it. Continue with them, please?


	4. 4: In Which Søren Asks Eirik For Help

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Uh, the whole world? Or something like that. Iceland, Denmark, Netherlands, Fem!England and Fem!Norway in this one.  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> ...Let's just stick with Denmark/Fem!Norway and Iceland/Fem!Norway. Final pairing will be Ice/Fem!Nor. If you don't like it, then... well. You've got a while. Hints at (Well, more like _blatantly obvious mentions of) _past Fem!Russia/Fem!Nor, Fem!France/Fem!Nor, and Denmark/Fem!England.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M. It's high school, and I'm portraying it as realistically as possible while still making it story-shaped. So yeah, M.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>LANGUAGE. Seriously, every time Lars and Søren show up, just expect it. Genderbends. Also, mentions of Justin Bieber.

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own anything. Especially not Justin Bieber.**

Read and Review, please! It makes me feel loved.

**_Chapter 4: In Which S_****_øren Asks Eirik for Help_**

* * *

><p>Eirik sighed irritably at his laptop, tapping the desk it sat upon and occasionally flicking his bangs out of his eyes. This whole concept of "seducing Nora" was a lot harder than it seemed. She was extraordinarily picky when it came to guys – and she had absolutely every right to be so, in Eirik's opinion. Setting up a bet like hers meant that she had the right to pick and choose who was worthy of her time.<p>

That meant that Eirik had some pretty stiff competition to go up against. Really, he wasn't too worried – he knew Nora better than anyone else did, being her best friend and all, but… that also meant that he had become the 'go-to guy' for any newcomer trying to put their hand into the bet. And honestly, he _hated_ having to give up his own plans for the sake of another guy (or girl – Marion and Anya had both given it a shot. Marion tried at least once a year).

He'd finally caved and written a generic list, one that would have little to no chance of success, just to get people off his back. Plus, now he didn't have to give up his own plans.

He continued to glare in irritation at _his_ list – it looked pretty much the same as every other time he'd done it, but he was still struggling to add more points to it. He was just on the verge of adding another one when he heard some pointed whispering directed at him.

" – look, just go and ask him, okay? He's the resident expert –"

So Lars was in on this, too? Great.

"No fuckin' way, man, he looks like an albino Justin Bieber or something. There's no way that kid knows how to seduce a girl like _her."_

_That's it. Time to get a fucking haircut._

"Trust me, Søren, the kid knows what he's doing. Just go talk to him, okay?"

"No way! He –"

"Can hear every word you're saying, douchebags," Eirik said irritably, not looking up from his laptop. He quickly shut his list down and brought up the MyFace group, along with his list of 'suitable techniques'. "I see that you still haven't learned to pick better friends, Lars."

"And I see you're still an asshole, Eirik."

"Glad to see nothing's changed," the other kid – presumably Søren – snarked, pulling a chair out and leaning back in it. "Let's get to the point. Can you help me land Nora Knutson or not?"

"… with an attitude like that, you're beyond help at this point," Eirik sighed.

"You saying that she'll think I'm irresistible as is?" Søren grinned.

"No, she'll think you're an arrogant asshole. And she won't be wrong," Eirik retorted, flicking his hair out of his eyes again.

Søren's grin dropped markedly. "Y'know, you're an ass, kid."

"Takes one to know one, douchebag. And don't call me 'kid'."

"Or what, you'll throw your sippy cup at me?"

"Or you can forget about even trying to win that bet. A guy like you stands no chance with Nora," Eirik growled, clenching his fists.

"He's right," Lars interjected before Søren got another insult in. "As is, you have no chance, Søren. Stop insulting him. He knows what he's doing."

"How the hell does he know what he's doing? He doesn't even look like he belongs in high school."

"I'm _seventeen,_ asshole."

"So's Justin Bieber. What's your point?"

"Do you want my help or not?" Eirik demanded, glaring at Søren, who sighed and ran a hand lazily through his already extraordinarily messy hair.

"Fine. Yeah. Whatever."

"All right. It's gonna cost you, though," Eirik said, turning back to his laptop and printing off the list.

Søren sighed heavily and pulled out his wallet. "How much?"

"I don't want your money. Get me 3 boxes of Ramen and we'll call it even. Unless you come back for more, in which case I want another box every time," Eirik demanded, getting up and grabbing the list off the printer.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"God, you're cheap."

"You'll thank me for it later, trust me. So, here's the initial list. This is just recommended stuff that most everybody who's given this thing a shot has done. You'll want to come up with your own material, but start out with this first," Eirik said, handing the sheet over to Søren. "If you need me, I'll be around," he told Søren, closing his laptop with a slightly ominous _click_, gathering his things and walking off, leaving the other boy to read the list in (sort of) silence.

_1. __Ask her to help you with your homework_

"Sweet, already got one done."

"That's probably the easiest part," Lars told him while quietly attempting to make a nap.

_2. __Attempt to get to know her while doing said work – do not make it obvious that you're doing so._

_3. __At school the next day talk to her for over 10 minutes. Lunch is the best time to do this. DO NOT interrupt her during class; she will not hesitate to hurt you. Badly._

"… so she's abusive, then?"

"Only when you piss her off. Which isn't hard to do. So, yeah, kinda."

_4. __Sometime during the day leave a note in her locker, asking her to meet you at a coffee place – again, for homework purposes only. Tell her you focus better with crowd noise – whatever it takes to make her believe that it is NOT A DATE._

_She's absolutely addicted to the stuff, and will not be able to say no. She prefers Starbucks over Caribou. (DO NOT attempt anything lesser than either of these, unless you're absolutely sure she'll like it.) _

_- If you ARE going to go for a more 'indie' café, make sure that there's good art lying around. If the coffee sucks, she'll at least be able to tolerate the place._

_5. __If successful, then meet her at said place. Try to learn more about her without making it seem too obvious that you're trying to dig deeper._

_6. __While doing that, make some small attempt to flirt with her. Something very small and unnoticeable. SUBTLETY IS KEY. No obnoxious pick-up lines; she hates those._

"Fuck. I'm screwed."

"Well, we already knew that. Any specific reason why?"

"I have to be subtle about this shit."

"… yeah, you're fucked. You're about as subtle as a brick to the head."

"Fuck you, Lars."

_7. __Repeat this process (steps 4-6) until you are absolutely confident that she will say yes when you ask her out._

_8. __Actually ask her out. Preferably in a romantic, but not overly ostentatious manner. This is easier said than done._

_9. __Keep doing nice things for her. Continuously feed her coffee. This will greatly heighten your chances of success._

_10. __Keep doing whatever else it is you're doing to make her date you until you've reached the 6-month mark. Once you've hit that, the money is yours._

_Good luck! _

"Shit. This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought," Søren sighed, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

"It'll keep you from being bored for a long time, though, which was kind of the point in the first place," Lars pointed out, yawning slightly.

"You're an ass. This is the worst idea you've ever had."  
>"No, pretty sure that having you fight Berwald at that one Halloween party was the worst idea I've ever had."<p>

"No it wasn't! That was awesome!"

"You broke my mom's coffee table."

"Your fault for not getting it out of the way in the first place."

"No, it's your fault for slamming that axe into it. Where the hell did you even get that thing?"

"Got an uncle in Wisconsin who's a blacksmith. He made it for me when I turned 15. Said it was my rightful inheritance as a man or some shit like that."

"You're kidding me."

"Uh, _no_. He said all the men in our family get a battle-axe when they turn 15."

"That's like… the shittiest reason for destroying someone's house in the history of… ever."

"Your _face_ is the shittiest reason in the history of ever," Søren retorted, sticking his tongue out childishly.

* * *

><p>"So, I've heard that you've got another contender in your bet. It's not that whore again, is it?" Morgan asked, taking a delicate sip of her tea.<p>

"Marion? No. I expressly told her that if she tried again, I was going to cut off one of her breasts, or something to that effect," Nora sighed over her mug of coffee, brow furrowed in a vain attempt to remember exactly what she'd threatened the French girl with.

"That's good. The fact that she's tried repeatedly is just… disgustingly desperate. So, who is it then?"

"Søren… Nortung, I think his last name was? That weird kid that hangs out with Lars that thinks he's James Potter or something. Always messing up his hair and being a… oh, for lack of a better term, douchebag."

Morgan nearly choked on her tea. "_Søren? _You've got to be shi– you're joking, right?"

"No… why would I joke about something like that?"

"He's – god, how could he _possibly_ think he's your type?"  
>"He probably doesn't. He's probably bored, looking for something – or someone – to do, and once he heard there was money in it, he was automatically interested," Nora sighed, taking another sip of her coffee.<p>

"… he has no idea who you are, does he?"  
>"None whatsoever. But apparently Wang is professing his love for me again, because Søren asked for me to tutor him in Mythology."<p>

Morgan scowled. "The only reason he likes you better –"

"Is because I did better in the class than you did. It's also because I'm not British," Nora retorted.

Morgan sniffed haughtily. "Just because I'm British doesn't mean he hates me."

"He called you "Opium". At least twice. I'd say he kind of hates you."

"… I hate it when you're right."

"No, you don't."

"Well, I hate it when you're right about shi- _things_ like this."

"Give up on the goody-two-shoes act, Morgan. I was still friends with you during the punk phase, I don't care what you act like."

Morgan sighed heavily. "Look, it doesn't matter. We both passed the class, it doesn't matter if he hates me or not. I'm just thankful that Søren didn't come to me for help."

"Why? Is he that bad?"

"Let's put it this way… he makes Alfred look almost like a genius in comparison."

Nora blanched slightly. "You're lying. You've _got_ to be lying."

"I dated him, back in 10th grade. I think I know what I'm talking about."

"You – _you _dated_ him_?" Nora asked, slightly horrorstruck.  
>"I was in my punk phase at the time. I thought he'd be a good lay, and I was absolutely right."<p>

"You have to be joking."

"No. There's this thing that he does with his tongue… mmm. Might have to teach Alfred that one. I rather miss it."

Nora just stared at Morgan. "Do you have some kind of – addiction? Ugh, I don't know what the word is I'm looking for... but you're attracted to idiots, aren't you?"

"It gives me someone to lord over. That way I satisfy my need to control everything, and they're powerless to resist."

"… you're absolutely sick and twisted sometimes, you know that?"

"Shame. And here I thought I managed to be so all the time," Morgan mourned quietly, taking another sip of her tea.

* * *

><p>Just as a reminder:<p>

Anya is Fem!Russia, Morgan is Igiko, Marion is Fem!France.

Reviews make me happier than a bird with a french fry. So please, please, _please_ review. Let me know what I'm doing right - or wrong, for that matter.


	5. 5: In Which The Games Really Begin

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Uh, the whole world? Or something like that. Iceland, Denmark, Netherlands, Fem!England and Fem!Norway in this one.  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> ...Let's just stick with Denmark/Fem!Norway and Iceland/Fem!Norway. Final pairing will be Ice/Fem!Nor.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M. It's high school, and I'm portraying it as realistically as possible while still making it story-shaped. So yeah, M.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Language. Genderbends. Also, mentions of Justin Bieber and David Tennant/_Doctor Who_.

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own anything.**

Read and Review, please! It makes me feel loved.

**_Chapter 5: In Which The Games (Really) Begin_**

* * *

><p><em>About Two Weeks Later<em>

"I'm _bored_," Søren whined, looking over at Nora with a look that begged her to let him stop studying. "Can we stop now? Please?"

"No. _This_ is why you are continuing to fail Wang's class," Nora sighed irritably, rubbing her temples in frustration.  
>"Yeah, 'cause this shit is <em>seriously boring<em>. I mean, nothing's happening."

"_Beowulf _is _not_ boring. People are being killed every night by a monster, they're having a nonstop party _while_ people are being killed every night, and then Beowulf shows up and kills more stuff. What part of this is boring?" Nora demanded.

"Dude, why can't they just _say_ that, then? Because this is… lame. It's all 'blah blah flowery ye old English totally ruining anything exciting'. Something needs to _happen_. In _real_ English, not whatever the fuck this shit is."

"_You – are – an – idiot_," Nora hissed between clenched teeth. "This is perfectly understandable!"

"Well, excuse me for being stupid. Not everyone can be a total genius like you, Nor," Søren drawled lazily.  
>"Don't call me that!"<p>

"Why not? Eirik calls you that."

"Eirik is one of my best friends, if not the very best. He's allowed to call me whatever he likes. You, on the other hand, are a thorn in my side – or maybe my ass - and therefore you do _not_ get to call me that. You haven't earned the right."

"You're so _mean_," Søren whined. "You're meaner than Morgan, and that's saying something, because she's a bitch."

Nora let out another deep, long, very frustrated sigh. "Just focus on _Beowulf_, please."

"I'm trying! It's just so _boring_."

Nora let out another long, frustrated sigh. "Fine. We'll give up on _Beowulf –"_ Søren let out a small cheer at this – "But only for now. Don't get so excited."

"Come _on_. Beowulf is lame. Can we go back to the stuff about Odin and Thor? That was cool."

"You have a good handle on Norse mythology already. Plus, I suspect that you're just imagining the comic book interpretations of it. No."

"Oh, come on! I want more stories about Thor."

"No. We'll move onto Celtic mythology, if you can't handle _Beowulf_."

"Ugh, no, that's even worse," Søren groaned, making a disgusted face. "They have unpronounceable names and they're all just kind of douchebags. Nobody liked that unit."

"Then shut up and focus," Nora sighed. "You're never going to pass unless you focus. And you know what that means?"

"Yeah, yeah, I fuckin' know I won't graduate without this stupid class. Wish my mom never told you. God. Like I needed one more person gettin' on my case."

"Clearly, you do. Now _focus_."

"I _can't_. Maybe if someone put this stupid book –"

"Poem."

"Whatever! This stupid _poem_ into something anybody could understand, I could focus."

Nora sighed again. "Look, if you're not going to do anything, we may as well be done for the day. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? And you'd better actually focus. Otherwise, I'm telling your mother."

"Fine. Whatever," Søren muttered as he packed up his stuff. "I seriously hate that she loves you so much."

"It's not my fault that everyone simply can't deny their love for me."

"Right. Because you're a fucking goody-two-shoes."

"I have at least a dozen people and a YouTube video that will say otherwise," she said offhandedly, packing away her things.

"Oh, really now?" he asked, curiosity piqued.

"Yes. You're not getting more details than that until you retake that Celtic Mythology test. Again. And _actually pass it this time._"

"Oh, come _on_!"

"Providing you with an incentive will give you more chances of success later on."

"Now is not the time to be pulling your bullshit psychiatrist act on me, Knutson."

"I have to disagree, _Nortung_. It's always the time for pseudo-psychoanalysis," Nora said, momentarily grinning evilly back at him as she walked away.

"Is not!" he retorted, watching her (borderline lewdly) as she walked away.

"It so is."

* * *

><p>Nora jerked slightly in her chair as her bedroom door slammed shut. "I take it you're staying here again?" she asked Eirik, not bothering to look up from her sketchbook.<p>

"Maybe not for the night, but yeah, at least for a while. Dad started in on the usual argument. Not really in the mood to deal with his bullshit, so I ran for it," Eirik explained, flopping onto her bed, as was his usual choice.

"Got it," she confirmed, erasing part of an arm that she was dissatisfied with. "I'll let my mom know. She's thinking about just asking your parents if you can just stay here all the time, with how often you come over."

"Well, that would explain why she was setting up a room for me downstairs when I came in…" Eirik mused. "So, what're you working on?"

"Kind of a simplification of _Beowulf_. I don't think that Søren is going to understand it unless I dumb it down for him," she explained, finally looking up at him for the briefest of moments before her eyes widened in shock. "You… you cut your hair."

"I was sick of flicking my bangs out of my face. Also, some douchebag kept calling me a Justin Bieber wannabe," Eirik shrugged, wisely refraining from mentioning the fact that it was Søren who kept calling him that.

"It… it's different. You look a little like David Tennant, now. Who was it that kept calling you Justin Bieber?"

"Dunno who it was, just heard the same voice saying it," he lied. "Is looking like him a good or a bad thing?"

"Definitely a good thing," Nora said, blushing a little, as she'd had a bit of a celebrity crush on Tennant ever since Morgan introduced her to _Doctor Who_. She quickly ducked back down and resumed drawing.

"So, you're simplifying _Beowulf_… why? I mean, there's a mov-"

"You know how I feel about the movie. Besides, he's a pretty big comic book fan, so I figured -"

"You'd just put it in that style. Got it. It's just…" he trailed off, not wanting to say something stupid out loud.

"What?"

"You… you usually only do a series of drawings for people you really like. I still have that one you did for me, back in freshman year."

"Oh, god, why do you still have that? My style was awful then. I had no concept of anatomy at all, and it was all just _awful_…" she complained, cringing at the memory.

"I have it because you made it for me, Nor. Geez. Anyway, you're making this for him, and this is obviously taking a lot of your time… so why are you doing it? Do you actually like him, or what?"

"I… I don't really know," she sighed, looking up at him dejectedly. "At times he's extraordinarily stupid, and he just gets on my last nerve. But then, sometimes he's really sweet, and I'm utterly flattered. So, I don't know. Maybe?"

"You're doing this for him, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, because he was complaining about it, and he'll never understand _Beowulf_ otherwise –"

"I'd say you like him, then," Eirik interrupted, trying his very hardest not to look like he was disappointed or angry, and not really succeeding either way.

"But I don't know that I _do_. I know he's just in it for the money, and that basically means that he has no other investment in this, and he'll drop me as soon as the six months are over," she sighed, clearly frustrated.

"Maybe he will, maybe he won't. You never know."

"… no one's made it before," she whispered. "I never should have set up this stupid bet in the first place."

"Nobody's made it yet because nobody that's tried has been worthy of you yet. You're special, Nora. Your dad knew it, and that's why he had you set up the bet, and _I_ know it, which is why I'm telling you to keep going."

"I don't understand why. It's stupid, and childish, and it's really not worth it. I should just call it off."

"Don't. Maybe he's in it for the money now, but he won't be in it just for that by the time he's done," he suggested softly.

"Not likely," she scoffed. "If they're in it for the money, they're _only_ in it for the money."

"He hasn't even asked you out yet, Nor. You've got time to worry about it later, right?"

"I suppose…" she said, resuming her work on the _Beowulf_ comic.

"Yeah, you do," he said, a determined look coming across his face.

It was time for him to up his game. Now, how to do it in a way that would make Nora believe it?

* * *

><p>Nora sighed deeply, glaring at her clock with the hatred of a thousand dying suns.<p>

_2:41_, it read in bright green numbers. Nora felt as though the thing was personally responsible for keeping her awake, even though she knew that her thoughts were the ones doing so. She rolled over and flopped an arm over her eyes, as though it would even do anything, and tried to figure out what was keeping her awake.

First on the list was Søren. Everything about him was confusing to her. Sometimes he was an ass, and then sometimes he was a complete gentleman. He was stupid, loud, constantly seeking attention, but at the same time he was remarkably attractive, with an easy grin that made you wish you could be half as happy as he was.

That could be pushed back fairly easily, though. Far more unsettling was Eirik. He'd been… _off_, lately, and she couldn't pinpoint exactly _why_. She would have chalked it up to his parents fighting, but they'd been doing so consistently since Eirik had entered high school, so that definitely wasn't it…

He'd been on his computer a lot more lately. She'd asked him what he was working on a couple of times, and all he'd told her was "a long term project". He'd never specified for what class, if it was for any class at all. He and Michael were known to get up to the weirdest things, after all.

He'd been changing his appearance for no discernable reason. First it was the clothes –he'd never used to care about his appearance before, and now he was wearing brand names – Aeropostale, American Eagle, _Abercrombie and Fitch_. He'd never worn them before – he was more of a hipster, _I don't give a shit what I wear_ kind of guy. He'd also just gotten his hair cut, which made him look sort of like David Tennant and also kind of like Søren, all at the same time, which struck her as odd. He didn't really seem to like Søren all that much, so why would Eirik be copying him?

He'd also been a lot more distant, and secretive. It used to be that they both told each other everything, but they didn't anymore. He was hiding something from her – something big. Really big.

_But what is it?_ She wondered, staring blankly at the glow-in-the-dark stars that she and Eirik had stuck on the ceiling when she was eight. She played around with a few ideas in her head – none of them good, until one hit her with the force of a speeding Mack truck.

_He liked someone_. The secrecy, the clothes, every sign pointed to a crush.

The only question she had now, was _who is it?_

* * *

><p>So, thank you all so much for reviewingfavouriting last chapter! Seriously. Giant fluffy hugs to you all. Yes, even you, who's just lurking.

Keep reviewing, though! Let me know what you liked about it, what I can change - besides, y'know, not writing chapters at 2:41 in the morning. That would be a start.


	6. 6: In Which Things Get Interesting

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Uh, the whole world? Or something like that. Iceland, Denmark, Netherlands, Fem!Canada, Fem!England and Fem!Norway and Hong Kong in this one.  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> ...Let's just stick with Denmark/Fem!Norway and Iceland/Fem!Norway. Final pairing will be Ice/Fem!Nor. (Also, some not-so-background noise Net/Fem!Can)  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M. It's high school, and I'm portraying it as realistically as possible while still making it story-shaped. So yeah, M.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Language. Genderbends. Mentions of sexual situations. This one's pretty tame, guys.

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own anything.**

Read and Review, please!

**_Chapter 6: In Which Things Get Interesting_**

* * *

><p><em>The Next Weekend, at a Nearby Starbucks<em>

"Hey, you're here early!" Søren exclaimed from a small grouping of chairs, a few notebooks sitting on the table in front of him.

"So're you," Nora said, carrying a binder under her right arm, sitting down in a chair across from him.

"Figured it wouldn't hurt. I wanted to get out of the house, anyway. What'cha got there?"

"This is for you," she informed him, holding out the binder.

Søren looked at it in horror, not taking it from her out of fear. "Oh, god, more notes?"  
>"Of a sort. I simplified <em>Beowulf<em> for you."

"You… wha?"

"Simplified _Beowulf_ into a comic for you. It's about 50 pages, when all is said and done. It's not my best work, but it'll do in this case. Do you want to take it, or what?" she asked, shaking the binder at him a little bit.

"You made a comic book. _You_."

"Well, it's more of a manga style, but yeah, I did. I'm not just limited to paintings and clay pots, you know."

"Okay…" Søren said, cautiously taking the notebook, "but why'd you make it? I could've just watched the movie or Spark Noted the thing, or something –"

"Wang fails the people who just watch the movie or Spark Note it. I watched half the class fail that unit _because_ they did that. So, since you can't afford to fail any of it, I just decided to simplify it for you. What do you think?" she asked nervously, watching him flip through it.

"… Why does Beowulf look like me? But, y'know, all manga-fied and shit."

"You two are… you're very similar. That, and it'll help you relate to the story more easily."

"Right. _Sure_ it will," Søren said sarcastically.

"Well, it's worth a shot, isn't it?"

"I guess. It's better than having to actually read the book, anyway," he replied offhandedly, looking through the book intently. "This is… how much time did you spend on this? It's awesome."

"More than I should have. I didn't get a lot of sleep while I was working on it, I can tell you that much."

"You did a really good job on it. I'm really impressed. I think this might actually help. Thanks!" Søren told her, grinning brightly at her.

"N-no problem," she said, blushing slightly, feeling butterflies at the fact that the grin was directed at her.

"Yeah, right. This is 50 pages. This had to take you forever. It's really nice that you'd do that for me. Tell you what? I'll get you coffee in repayment. You usually get a White Chocolate Mocha with Skim Milk and three packets of sugar, right?" he asked, standing up and pulling out his wallet.

"I can buy my own!" she protested, starting to get up.

"Nuh-uh. I told you, this is repayment. So, is that what you want, or do you want something else?"

"… that'll work. Thanks."

"No problem, sweetheart."

"_Don't call me that!"_

* * *

><p>"<em>Fifty pages?<em> You summarized _Beowulf_ into a 50-page comic book, and you gave it to him. My god. You really like him, don't you?" Morgan asked incredulously.

"He's… sweet. Sort of. When he's not being a dumbass. And he's pretty genuine. So, yeah, I like him," Nora admitted reluctantly.

"I mean… ugh, I cannot believe I'm saying this, but… do you _like_ like him?"

"You really have to stop hanging around Alfred. It's warping your brain."

"I know that… now answer the question, please."

Nora thought for a few moments about it. "I don't know. There's times I think I do, but then he decides to be an idiot again, and then I don't."

"So you don't know if you'll actually let him into the bet, then?"

"No. I _could_, but…"

"But you're not sure you want to."

"Yeah. He seems like he could break my heart way too easily."

Morgan nodded sagely. "He could. And he wouldn't think twice about it, either."

"But he's already put his money. It wouldn't be fair to deny him."

"Quite the conundrum you've put yourself into, isn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Nora sighed. "I think I'll let him try anyway. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Well, you could have sex with him and then get pregnant. Or get an STI. And he could completely break your heart and then you'd commit suicide. Or -"

"Morgan, that was a rhetorical question. Why do you have to be so morbid?"

"I know it was. And I'm not being morbid, I'm being realistic."

"Well, stop being realistic, and actually be, I don't know… supportive, or something."

"Not my job, Nora. It would scare the living shit out of you if I was."

"Touché."

The two of them sat together in silence for a while, both of them lost in thought.

"But, seriously, though… what do you think I should do?" Nora asked quietly.

"I think you're right- you should give him a chance, at the very least. If it all goes south, well, there's always college. And that $950 will get you at least a class or two, right?"

"Yeah, it will."

* * *

><p><em>Bzzzzrt<em>

"Is that your phone or mine?" Lars asked sleepily.

_Bzzzzrt_

"Yours, _Coeur._ Mine had the volume up, remember?" Maddie reminded him. "Because Alfred called in the middle of us -" she broke off, blushing furiously.

"Having sex. You can say it, y'know. Where'd my jeans end up?" he asked, slowly dragging himself out of bed.

_Bzzzzrt_

"Not sure. On the end of the bed, maybe?"

"No… oh, there they are," Lars groaned, walking out into the hallway and grabbing his jeans. "How the hell did they make it out here?" he asked as he pulled out his phone.

"The same way my bra always makes it onto the ceiling fan. Seriously, how do you manage that every damn time?"

"I have mad skillz, Mads. Skillz so mad they need anger management classes."

Maddie sighed in exasperation. "Why am I dating you again?"

"Because of your not-so-secret Twilight obsession," he said sarcastically, quickly typing a reply to the text-message he'd received.

"I will _end you_," she threatened, holding up a pillow and preparing to tackle and smother him with it.

"Kidding. God, put that down," he said, attempting to take the pillow away from her one-handed.

"Not until you take it back."  
>"Fine. Whatever. Sorry."<p>

"You'd better be. So, who're you texting?"

"Søren."

"Of course. What is he bothering you about now?"

"Nora. Says he's finally got her, or something."

"Bullshit," she replied without hesitation. "There's no way that Nora caved that easily. It's only been a month."

"You're forgetting there's like, 6 months left in the school year. She'll have to cave pretty quickly, if she hasn't already."

"I still don't think she has."

"Søren says she made him a comic version of _Beowulf_."

"Oh my god, seriously? Maddie asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Yup. He sent me pictures of it as proof. Here," he said, turning his phone so that she could see the screen.

"Wow. She's really good… but I hope for her sake she hasn't caved."

"… You really don't like Søren, do you?"

"He reminds me of Alfred. Except he's even more stupid, which I didn't know was possible. So, no, I don't like him. At all."

"He's kind of my best friend, Mads."

"I don't care. He's a douchebag. Why are you even friends with him?"

"I don't know, why are you friends with Anya Braginskaya?"

"Because she's the only other girl on the hockey team, and she's actually really nice once you get to know her. She just seems scary," Maddie protested. "Besides, that's not even relevant!"

"I don't like all of your friends, and you don't have to like all of mine. Deal?" Lars asked, turning his phone off and putting it back in his jeans pocket, looking over at her

"Mmm… deal," Maddie smirked, leaning over and kissing him soundly on the lips.

* * *

><p>"Earth to space cadet, come in space cadet," Michael said, waving a hand in front of his best friend's face.<p>

"Wha – oh. Sorry," Eirik apologized, jerking slightly in his seat. "I'm just… kind of distracted right now."

"Yeah, I figured that out after I asked you if sleeping with your mom was okay, and you said 'whatever'."

"… You asked me if you could sleep with my mom?"

"And if I could have all your stuff when you died," Michael confirmed. "What the hell is your problem? You've been spacing out on me all week."

Eirik sighed deeply, running a hand through his now-spiky hair. "It's Nora."

"It's always Nora. What specifically about her this time?"

"It's… I think she's actually starting to like Søren. And unless I somehow distract her from him, I'm not going to stand a chance."

"Look, this is just high school. Do you know the statistics on couples that start dating in high school that keep dating through college?"

"Do _you_?"

"It's like one in a thousand, or something. At any rate, they _suck_. _If_ you succeed in, y'know, wooing her and everything, the likelihood that you'd stay together isn't high. You can try after college or something."

"I don't want to wait that long, Michael. I've been in love with her since I was _six years old._ I've waited eleven years for this, and I don't want to lose to some douche who looks like he stuck his finger in a socket. What if it was you with Mei?"

"T-that's not the same at all!" the Asian boy protested, ducking his head to hide his furious blush.

"Uh-huh, sure it's not."

"It isn't. I'm not in l-love with Mei. I just really like her, okay?"

"Whatever you say. But, hypothetically, if you were, and she'd set up the same bet as Nora did, and say, I don't know, Yong-Soo or somebody was going after her. What would you do?"

Michael looked up at the ceiling contemplatively for several long minutes. "Are we assuming that the same number of people have given the bet a shot, in Mei's case?"

"We can assume everything's the same, except for who's gone after her. You can choose that."

"With repeat offenders?"

Eirik smiled slightly at that and nodded.

"Well… maybe I'd ask that repeat offender what I should do."

"… I'm not asking Marion what I should do."

"Look, do you have any other ideas?"

"No, not really…"

"Exactly. Look, Marion has experience with this. She knows what Nora likes, what she doesn't like, what it takes to seduce her. If you're stuck, you should ask her what to do next."

"I _hate _dealing with Marion, though! She's such a _bitch_. Do I have to?" Eirik whined, a note of desperation creeping into his voice.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Michael said sagely.

"I'm not that desperate."

"I'd say you are."

"Well, I say you're stupid."

"Just ask her for help. Seriously, what could go wrong?"

"Everything. _Everything_ could go wrong," Eirik muttered, putting his head into his hands and sighing deeply.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **_Before you freak out on me: More than 2/3 of that _Beowulf_ summary is pure text. The rest is drawings. I just wanted a nice, even number. 20 and 30 just weren't cutting it. Okay?

Maddie is Fem!Canada, Mei is Taiwan, Michael is Hong Kong, Marion is Fem!France. (... I really need to stop giving my characters names that start with 'M'.)

Well, that's it for this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it, and that you'll review if you did.


	7. 7: In Which Plans Progress

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters: **Denmark, Iceland, Fem!Norway, and Fem!France. (Also, a brief mention of Fem!Russia)  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> ...Let's just stick with Denmark/Fem!Norway and eventual Iceland/Fem!Norway. Final pairing will be Ice/Fem!Nor.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M. It's high school, and I'm portraying it as realistically as possible while still making it story-shaped. So yeah, M.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Language. Genderbends. Possibly Fail!French. Some hating on Thor.

**DISCLAIMER: I still don't own anything.**

Read and Review, please!

**_Chapter Seven: In Which Plans Progress_**

* * *

><p>"Eirik, <em>ma cheri!<em> This is a pleasant surprise," Marion exclaimed, looking honestly surprised as Eirik sat down across from her.

"This is strictly business, Marion. Don't call me your _cheri._"

"Ah, of course. I should not have assumed otherwise," Marion sighed, looking a little disappointed. "What is this business of yours?"

"I… I need your help," Eirik gritted out through his teeth, clenching his fists under the table.

"Well, this is a day just full of surprises, _non_?" she purred, leaning over the table, folding her hands under her chin and staring directly at him. "Whatever do you need my assistance with?"

"I-I need your help with gettingNoratodateme," he muttered, blushing slightly.

"I'm sorry, _cher_, I didn't quite catch what you just said. If you could repeat it…?"

"I… I need your help trying to… I dunno, seduce Nora. Get her to date me. I don't really know what term I'm looking for here, but I need to get her before that asshole does."  
>"Ah, jealousy does not become you, Eirik," Marion sighed. "But I do believe I can help you, on one condition."<p>

"And that is?" he asked nervously.

"Ah, do not fret, it is nothing difficult. I simply need you to ask Anya to… back off. Permanently."

Eirik stared at her as if she was insane. "Why me?"

"She likes you, _oui_?"

"As much as she likes anyone, really."

"Well, she will still listen to you. Do that much for me, and I will help you."

"All right, fine," Eirik agreed grumpily, standing up and stalking off towards Anya. They had what looked to be a fairly pleasant conversation, and after a few minutes, Eirik came back over. "She says she'll back off for a while. She understands if you need… time to adjust to the thought."

"That isn't what I asked for, Eirik."

"That's all I could get _her_ to agree to. You ever try getting her to agree to something? It's not easy. You're lucky I got her to consent to that much."

Marion sighed deeply. "I suppose it will have to do. Now, tell me, what all have you tried?"

"Not much. She… she thinks of me like I'm her little brother, or something. I haven't exactly figured out how to work around that. That's… that's why I'm here. Because I have no idea how to make her see me as -"

"As something more?" Marion interrupted.  
>"Yeah. And – well, you've dated her what, three, four times now? So you know what you're doing."<p>

"I do. But what I have done, and what you will have to do… they are very different things."

"So… you don't have any suggestions, then?"

"Not at this moment, no. Give me a day or two, and I might have a few suggestions. But nothing is coming to mind right now. I'll get back to you once I have a few more ideas, _d'accord?_"

"Uh, sure," Eirik said, looking a little confused at the French-Canadian girl's use of her native language.

The bell suddenly rang, causing both Eirik and Marion to jump. "Well, that is that. I will see you later, _ma cheri!_" Marion purred, gathering up her things and flouncing off to her next class.

"I thought I told you not to call me that!" Eirik yelled after her, his voice getting lost in the crowd of noisy students.

* * *

><p>"So, why were you sitting with Marion at lunch today?" Nora asked Eirik as he slid into the passenger seat of her blue Mini Cooper.<p>

"Uh, no real reason," he replied, putting on his seatbelt. "Do I get control of the music, or does that sole right still belong to you?"

"I'll let you pick it, as long as you don't put Björk on."

"Oh, come on! She's good!"

"No, she's _weird_," Nora argued. Eirik looked like he was about to protest, but Nora interrupted him before he could. "Say otherwise and your privileges will be revoked."

"Fine. No Björk," he sighed, pouting slightly. "Is the _Sherlock Holmes_ soundtrack okay?"

"_Sherlock Holmes_ is fine. But seriously, why were you sitting with Marion?"

"I just… I needed her help with something, okay?"

"With _what_?" she asked, impatiently waiting in line to exit the parking lot. "She's not in any of your classes…"

"It's – it's a personal problem. Can you just drop it?" he asked nervously.

"No. Just tell me, okay? I'm not going to make fun of you, you know that, right?"

Eirik just stared out the window moodily, before grudgingly answering. "I… I asked her to help me ask out this girl I like. I don't really know how to, and Michael wasn't really helpful, so I went to her."

Nora paused, attempting to process this information while also finally exiting the parking lot. "Am I allowed to ask who she is?"

"You are, but that doesn't mean I'll answer," Eirik responded.

"… It's not Morgan, is it? Because if it is –"

"It isn't," he answered tersely.

"I'm just checking. Jeez, no need to get all snippy at me," she retorted sharply.

"Sorry. It's just… not her. Never her," he shuddered, making a disgusted face. "I don't really want to tell you who she is, okay? Not until I know if she likes me back."

The two of them fell into silence, in which Hans Zimmer's orchestrations filled the gap between the two.

"I guess that makes sense," she admitted after a while. "It's just kind of weird for me. When did we stop telling each other everything?"

"I don't know… maybe 10th grade?" he guessed, knowing that it was actually long before that.

"Maybe."

They lapsed into another pause, before Eirik asked her, "So, how're things going with Søren?"

"He, uhm, asked me out today," Nora admitted reluctantly. She wasn't sure how Eirik was going to take it – he didn't seem particularly fond of Søren (to say the least).

"I take it you said yes, then?" he asked, his voice taking on a slightly deadened quality.

"Y-yeah… I'm sorry, I know you don't like him very much, but –"

"He deserves his shot. I get it. You don't need to apologize," he told her, pulling out his phone and texting somebody.

"I feel like I do. Do you want me to drop you off at home, or do you wanna just come straight to my house?"

_They aren't the same thing?_ He asked her mentally, but externally all he said was, "Just drop me off at home."

"Okay," she replied, taking a right turn. The rest of the car ride was spent in silence, with Eirik texting Marion, and Nora focusing on driving. Ten minutes later, she pulled into his driveway. "Here you go. See you later?"

"Maybe. We'll see how my mom is. I'll text you, okay?" he asked somewhat rhetorically as he got out of the car.

"All right. See you," she replied, watching him sadly as he shut the door, gave a slight wave, and walked into his house.

* * *

><p><em>"You're <em>sure_ she said that she agreed to date him,"_ Marion asked for the umpteenth time (Eirik had lost count after about six).

Eirik sighed huffily into his cellphone. "Yes, I'm sure. I was sure all the other times you asked me, I'm still sure now. So what do I do?"

_"I'm not sure there's anything you can do, at least in the rules of the bet. There's no deliberate outside sabotage allowed. So, unless you could somehow convince her to date two people at one time…"_

"Fat fucking chance."

_"Well, you are rather hosed then, _cheri._ I have no ideas."_

"There has to be _something_," he pleaded, unconsciously running a hand through his hair.

_"There is only one option, really. Confess your feelings, and try to persuade her to dump Søren."_

"I – I can't do that!"

Marion sighed deeply on the other end. _"_Mon dieu_, you are worse than Morgan. What is the worst she can do to you, Eirik?"_

"Uh, reject me, break off all ties with me, and never speak to me again?"

Marion muttered a string of French obscenities into the phone before demanding, _"What is _wrong_ with you Americans? You do not attempt to love because you are afraid of rejection. Tell her how you feel, Eirik. It may just pay off in the end."_

Eirik was about to stammer out a reply when Marion hung up on him. "Bitch," he spat into his phone before throwing it on his bed. "This is why I didn't want to ask her in the first place."

* * *

><p>"Nora! There's a boy here for you!" Nora's mother called up the stairs, throwing a glance back at the strange boy with far too spiky hair standing in the entryway.<p>

"I'll be down in a couple of minutes!" Nora yelled downstairs. "It's not Eirik, is it?"

"No, sweetheart, it's not."

Nora swore under her breath as she pulled on a pair of black ballet flats. "All right, I'm coming!" she yelled, checking her hair one last time. _Well, it's as good as it's going to get tonight_, she internally sighed, dashing down the stairs.

Søren looked slightly awestruck at the sight of her in something other than jeans and a t-shirt.

"What?" Nora demanded, glaring slightly at him. "It's just a tunic and leggings. Geez."

"You… you just look really nice, that's all. You didn't have to dress up on my account," he said, grinning brightly at her.

"It's not for you. I just like to look presentable when I go out in public," she retorted.

"_Sure_ it's not," he drawled, shoving his hands into his pockets. You ready to go?"

"Nearly. I just need to grab my bag, and then we can go," she said, walking into the kitchen to grab said bag. Her mother followed after her, clearly looking for her daughter to answer a few questions.

"So, he's new. Is he just a friend, or…"

"He's the newest contender, Mama. His name is Søren Nortung."  
>"Well, he's certainly charming. If it doesn't work out between you two, do you think he would mind if I dated him?"<p>

Nora stared at her mother in horror. "Mo_ther!_ He's _eighteen_!"

"He's of legal age, sweetheart, and he's very nice looking."

"Mom. _No._ That's just disturbing," Nora said, still looking absolutely horrified by the thought.

"Well, all right. Have fun tonight, all right?"

"I'll try to," Nora sighed, picking up her bag and walking back into the entryway.

"So, what was that all about?" Søren asked her.

"You don't want to know. Trust me."

"If you say so," he said, shrugging slightly. "So, do you wanna do dinner first, or just go straight to the movie?"

"What are we seeing?" she asked, readjusting her bag so it was higher up on her shoulder.

"_Thor._ I thought you might like it, since it's based on Norse mythology and all," he told her, holding the door open for her.

Nora stared at him for a long moment before answering. "We're going straight to the movie. I don't want to throw up whatever I ate during it."

"Aw, c'mon! It's not that bad. I've already seen it, and it was good. Give it a shot."

"I'll give it a shot, but I'm still not eating anything beforehand."

"Well, can we at least get snacks while we're there?"

"Only if you pay for them yourself – _whoa_. You drive a_ Mustang_?" she asked incredulously, staring at the sports car in awe.

"Not normally, no. My dad let me borrow it for the night," he explained, opening the passenger side door for her.

"Well, still… it's a really sweet car. How'd you convince him?" she asked as she climbed in.

"Easy. I told him I had a date with the prettiest girl in school," Søren declared, smirking widely as he walked around and got in.

Nora blushed furiously and smacked him on the arm. "Liar."

_"Ow! _That really hurt!"

"Good."

* * *

><p><em>After the Movie…<em>

"So, whaddja think?" Søren asked excitedly, bouncing up and down slightly.

"That was _awful!" _Nora complained. "I mean, seriously, the only thing that was even remotely close to the actual myth was the way Loki acted, but even _that_ was off. There were so many things wrong with it –"

"Nora, do be a favor and pretend for thirty seconds that it's not supposed to be based off the mythology."

Nora paused in her tirade to do so, then shook her head. "I can't. My dad told me Norse myths for bedtime stories. I can't pretend it doesn't exist."

"I'm not asking you to do that, I'm asking you to ignore it and then give your opinion of the movie."

"… well, Darcy was pretty cool. And the CGI was good."

"So you liked it?"

"No. I mean, they make up some bullshit 'Odin Sleep', and Thor isn't constantly killing everything in sight, and the _Asgardians_," here she sneered, her voice dripping with utter distain, "Want peace. No proper Norse god _ever_ wants peace! I mean, really, it goes against their very nature! And Thor shouldn't have been allowed on the Bifrost with Mjolnir, because that would break the damn thing, and – mmph!" Nora suddenly stopped mid-tirade due to Søren's mouth covering hers thoroughly.

Søren broke the kiss almost as suddenly as he'd started it. "Nora, do me another favor, and _shut up_. It's not supposed to be like the myths. It's based on the comic books, which are _loosely_ based on the myth."

"No kidding," she muttered irritably, blushing slightly at his behavior. They were in _public_, after all.  
>"So, d'you still want to go to dinner? Or did you have enough of my popcorn to fill you up?" He asked somewhat jokingly.<p>

"I had enough of the popcorn. Can you… can you just take me home, please?" she asked quietly.

"Sure thing."

They walked out to the Mustang in silence, it only being interrupted when Søren walked around to open the car door for Nora again.

"I can get it myself, you know," she told him bluntly, looking up at him through narrowed eyes.

"My parents raised me to be polite. That extends to opening doors for you."

The drive home was filled with more of Nora's complaining about the movie and Søren's attempts to explain the filmmaker's reasoning, which escalated into an argument of whether or not filmmakers did enough research in general.

Nora believed they didn't. Søren thought it didn't matter, as long as stuff blew up.

("You are such a _boy_," Nora had criticized, rolling her eyes at him. "All you care about is if stuff blows up and there's a hot chick in it."

"No, plot is good too. It's just that the stuff you mentioned is way more important!")

Ten long minutes later, Søren pulled into Nora's driveway. "All right, you're home. You want me to walk you to your door, or –"

"No, it's fine, I can get myself there. The farther away you stay from my mom, the better."

"Why?" he asked, confused.

"She… she thinks you're hot," she explained, blushing.

"Well, that's understandable. Who doesn't think I am?" He asked rhetorically, grinning widely.

"I'm pretty sure Lars doesn't," Nora retorted, smirking evilly.

"_Ouch_. You are not a very nice person, you know that, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

"Well, since you won't let me walk you to your door…" Søren sighed, leaning over towards her and kissing her for the second time that night. "Good night, Nora."

Nora blushed again, giving Søren a rushed "good night" before running out of the car and into the safety of her house.

"Easy as pie," Søren said to himself as he backed out of her driveway and drove back towards his house, a grin on his face the whole way.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Okay, yes, I made Fem!France French-Canadian. It makes more sense than her being _actually_ French, because she's been at the same High School for 4 years. No exchange student stays at a school that long. So, the likelihood that she and her parents would've moved from France to Northern Midwest America isn't high. The likelihood that her parents would've moved from Quebec is slightly higher.

**_Please feel free to correct my French._** I know very little of it, and corrections are _more than welcome_.

Also, before you all go off about how _Thor _was totally amazing, and why am I hating on it so much bluh bluh bluh etc., I would just like to say that it was pretty good. But they got their myth stuff way off, and that really really bothers me.

Well, that's all this round! Thanks for reading, and please review!


	8. 8: In Which Feelings Are Revealed

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Iceland, Fem!Norway, Fem!England, Hong Kong, mentions of Denmark, Sweden and Finland.  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> ...Let's just stick with Denmark/Fem!Norway and eventual Iceland/Fem!Norway. Final pairing will be Ice/Fem!Nor.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M. It's high school, and I'm portraying it as realistically as possible while still making it story-shaped. So yeah, M.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Language. Genderbends. Text message section.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything I reference. It's all **

**_Chapter 8: In Which Feelings Are Revealed_**

* * *

><p><em>The next Monday, during their Senior Privilege…<em>

"So, how was it?" Morgan demanded impatiently.

"How was what?" Nora asked, looking up from her AP Government homework.

"You know what! Now _tell me_."

"You mean the date? It was fine, I guess. He took me to see _Thor_, and kissed me twice. Not bad, overall."

"You let him kiss you _twice?_"

"Well, the first time I had no idea. And The good night kiss is fairly customary. Can we talk about this later? I really need to get this done."

"It's not due for another two days, Nora! We're talking about this _now_."

Nora sighed deeply and looked up at her best friend. "Why can't we talk about it later?"

"Because Søren will be around later, and I can't interrogate you then. Now, why did you let him kiss you twice?"

"I wasn't expecting for him to do it the first time. He only did it to shut me up. And I already told you why I did the second time," Nora said tersely, looking slightly annoyed.

"I don't know why you're being so cagey about all this," Morgan whined, pouting slightly. "What's wrong with you?"

"Eirik's been avoiding me lately. He says he has a crush on someone, but he won't tell me who it is," Nora sighed as she put her homework back into her bag. "I just miss having him around. I know he hates Søren, but still. He's my probably my very best friend in the whole world, and I don't want to lose him over this."

"I doubt that he's avoiding you because of whom you're dating. He never has before, has he?"

"It's different this time. They both seriously hate each other. I'm used to the person trying to win the bet hating him, because they think of him as competition, but he's never really hated any of them before…"

"You're forgetting Berwald. He hated Berwald for a good long while there."

"Well, yeah, because he ended up being a total waste of time – the man is gayer than a treeful of monkeys on nitrous oxide, after all. But even then he didn't start hating Berwald until _after_ we'd broken up."

"I don't know what to tell you, Nora. Anyway, get back to the date. So you saw _Thor_? What did you think of it?"

"Can we not talk about it? Please?"

"It was that bad?"

"No. _Worse."_

* * *

><p><strong>To: Eirik<strong>

_You can't avoid her forever. Confrontation is inevitable._

**To: Michael**

_Ill talk to her later ok? Shes sitting with Soren now_

**To: Eirik**

_You'd better. Morgan says that Nora's going to come after you & confront you if you don't._

**To: Michael**

_… since when do you talk to Morgan?_

**To: Eirik**

_Since none of your business. TALK TO HER._

**To: Michael**

_I will! Dont nag me_

**To: Eirik**

_I'll stop nagging when you start moving._

* * *

><p>"Hey, Michael?" Nora asked, approaching the Asian boy cautiously. "Do you know where Eirik is?"<p>

"He took the bus home. Apparently his dad wanted him directly home, and didn't want him mooching off other people for a ride or something," Michael lied smoothly as he took his textbooks out of his locker and put them into his bag.

The reality was that Eirik _had_ taken the bus home, but not because his dad wanted him there. He was still avoiding Nora like the plague.

"Oh. Well, thanks for letting me know," she said, walking out of the building and towards her car.

* * *

><p><em>Friday of that week…<em>

Nora glanced down at her phone anxiously, waiting for a reply to the dozen or so texts that she had sent to Eirik in the last two hours, all along the lines of "where are you? We need to talk."

_Maybe he just doesn't have his phone on him_, she thought nervously, trying to focus back in on her homework.

Ten minutes later, she was texting him again, her panic levels rising rapidly. _If he doesn't text me back in the next 15 minutes, I'll go look for him, _she vowed, turning back to her work. She succeeded on focusing on it for roughly ten minutes before she was rushing downstairs, grabbing her coat and heading out the door. "I'm heading out, mama! I'll be back later," she called out to her mother, who was in the living room watching some old movie off of Netflix.

She jogged quickly towards Eirik's house, trying to calm her nerves down and not succeeding in the slightest. She approached the door, took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell. When no one answered after a few minutes, she rang it again, (barely) resisting the urge to repeatedly press the button.

The door finally opened a minute later on a thin, balding man just slightly taller than she was. "Oh. It's you. If you're lookin' for Eirik, he ain't here," Eirik's stepfather spat.

"Well, do you have any idea where he went? He's not answering any of my texts," Nora said, shoving down the urge to punch the man in the face for his rudeness.

"Little shit ran off about an hour ago and left his phone here. He probably ain't too far off. Surprised he didn't run off to you, the little slut."

"Well, uhm, thanks for your time, then," Nora said politely, turning around and walking down the street again. She decided to head to the park where the two of them used to play together when they were little, just to see if he was there. It wasn't that far off from either of their houses – about three blocks – and he still escaped there sometimes when he was frustrated with his parents.

She walked very quickly down those three blocks, shivering slightly from the cold wind blowing through – snow was on its way, she could practically smell it in the air.

Eirik sat on one of the swings at the park, swinging ever so slightly back and forth to keep warm, even though he was wearing a hat, gloves, and winter coat. Her boots crunched on the gravel, and Eirik looked up to see who was approaching, his eyes widening when he saw who it was.

"Nor? What're you doing here?"

"I was looking for you. I was texting you for about two hours with no response, and I finally went over to your house to see what happened. Your dad answered the door and told me you ran off after a fight, and I just guessed that you'd be here," she explained, shrugging slightly. "If you're not at my place after a fight, you're usually at Michael's or here."

"I'm a little too predictable that way, aren't I?" he sighed, his breath coming out in a puff of air. "Anyway, you know where I am now, you can go home."

"No!" She protested, walking closer towards him. "You've been avoiding me all week, and I want to know why."

"I don't want to talk about it, Nor."

"Is it because of Søren? Because I'll dump him, if you want, I'm not that attached to him –"

"It's not because of Søren," he answered quickly.

"Did you ask out that girl you have a crush on, then? Because I know that girls aren't really all that comfortable when there's another girl in the picture, so to speak."

"I – no, I didn't ask her out. I'm still – I'm still working on it."

"Well, then, why the hell have you been avoiding me?" She demanded, stomping her foot a little bit.

"I just… I don't want to talk about it, okay?" he said somewhat angrily.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't, okay? Just drop it."

"No! You've been avoiding me, and really distant, and I don't know why, but it seriously scares me. I feel like I'm losing you already," she said in a small voice, staring down at her feet.

Eirik stood up and walked directly up to her. She had to look at him to look him directly in the eye – and when had _that_ happened, she wondered dazedly. She'd been taller than him for as long as she could remember, really, but now she was shorter than him by six inches at least. And she was by no means a short person.

"Nora, seriously. You're not losing me. You're crazy to think that you are," he sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Well, it feels like I am! You're not telling me things, and you're avoiding me, and I just – I don't know what to do anymore."

"All right, fine. You really want to know why I've been avoiding you? "

"Yes!"

"I've been avoiding you because I'm trying to work out a plan to ask out the girl I like. And it's really hard, because that girl is kind of already taken –"

"So why are you trying to ask her out, then? I mean, if she's already taken, then it's kind of rude to just try and break her and her boyfriend up," Nora interrupted abruptly.

"Nor. Please. Don't interrupt me. And I'm trying to break them up because the guy she's dating is a douche, and he won't be good for her at all in the long run. It's also hard, because I've liked her for a really long time, and I don't really know how to ask her out _because_ of that. I'm scared of what will happen if she rejects me."

"W-why would she reject you?" Nora asked, shivering a little bit. "You're the sweetest guy I know, besides Timo and Berwald. Any girl would be lucky to have you."

"I'm just scared that she would, okay? Like I said, I've liked her for a really long time."

"Well, if you would tell me who she is, then I could maybe help you…"

"Oh, Nora," he sighed, "how can you be so blind?"

"Blind? What are you talking about?" she asked in confusion.

"It's…" he paused and inhaled deeply. "It's _you_."

"W-_what?_" she asked dazedly, reeling backwards.

"You're the girl I've been crushing on for years, Nora. It's you. It's only ever been you," he explained, grabbing onto her hand to make sure she wouldn't run off.

"B-but _why_? Why me? I mean, if you wanted, you could get pretty much any girl you wanted –" she babbled, only stopping when he put a gloved finger over her mouth.

"Shush! I don't want _them,_ I want _you_. Because you're brilliant, and gorgeous, and because of the way you bite your lip when you're nervous, and the way you're not afraid to completely flay someone alive with your words when you don't like what they're doing. Because you're hilarious when you want to be, and because you'd rather watch _Star Wars_ over any chick flick. Because I watched you fall apart after your dad died, and then pick yourself back up again. Because you're the best friend I could ever have. There's a million reasons why.

"Eirik, I – I can't do this. Not with you. I'm so, so sorry, but I just – I'm with Søren now, and I –"

"God, this is why I didn't want to tell you!" He shouted, letting go of her hand and trying to run one of his own through his hair only to be met with his hat. "I knew it wasn't going to go well. I knew you'd say no."

"I'm – I'm so sorry, Eirik. I wish I didn't have to say no," she apologized sincerely, her throat swelling up and making her feel like she was choking.

"I know. Believe me, I know."

"I just – I've got to go," she lied, turning around and running as if hell itself was chasing her.

She didn't see that behind her, Eirik had sunk to the ground, shaking with an attempt to control his sorrow and anger.

* * *

><p><em>"Moi Moi! You've reached the voicemail of Timo <em>_Väinämöinen and Berwald Oxenstierna. Please leave a message after the beep, and we'll get back to you when we get a chance."_

_Beep_

"Hey Berwald, it's Nora. I need some… uhm, advice, and I was wondering if you're available to talk any time soon. Call me back and let me know, okay? Thanks, bye."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Thank you all for the absolutely wonderful reviews I got for last chapter! They really mean a lot to me. Each and every one of them.

And yes, this does mean Sweden and Finland will be showing up next chapter.

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it.


	9. 9: In Which Nora Seeks Advice

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Fem!Norway, Sweden, Fem!England, OC, mentions of Iceland and Denmark  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> ...Let's just stick with Denmark/Fem!Norway and eventual Iceland/Fem!Norway. Final pairing will be Ice/Fem!Nor.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M. It's high school, and I'm portraying it as realistically as possible while still making it story-shaped. So yeah, M.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Language. Genderbends. Text message and IM sections.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything I reference. It's all **

**_Chapter 9: In Which Nora Seeks Advice_**

* * *

><p><strong>To: Nora Knutson<strong>

_I'll meet you at Starbucks at 1._

_- Berwald_

**To: Berwald Oxenstierna**

_Yeah, that's fine. See you there._

* * *

><p>Nora sat in her usual corner, huddled in her favorite chair with her knees up to her chest while clutching her fifth mocha of the day.<p>

She'd been sitting there for about four hours, waiting for 1:00 to roll around – being inside the Starbucks made her feel so much better, so much less overwhelmed by the turmoil of feelings rolling around inside her. She briefly checked her cell phone, which read 12:53, and sipped her coffee somewhat anxiously.

At 12:55 on the dot, an extremely tall, serious-looking blond man with glasses entered the building. He went to the counter and ordered his coffee, then walked over to where Nora was sitting and sat down across from her. "Hallo Nora."

"Hi Berwald," she greeted quietly, sipping at her coffee. "How're things with you?"

"They're fine. You?"

"Good," she answered automatically, before shaking her head slightly. "Sorry, that's a lie. I'm not doing well at all."

"Figured that out when yah called me," he said softly. "So what's goin' on?"

"It's about the bet," Nora said, shaking slightly both from nerves and too much caffeine as she set down her (now empty) coffee cup.

Berwald nodded in understanding. "What about it?"

"I – I'm thinking about calling it off."

"Why? Somethin' go wrong with it?" he questioned, looking a little surprised.

"Not exactly…" she mumbled, trying to find the exact words she wanted to use. "There's not anything wrong with it – nothing but me, really," she admitted, laughing a little hysterically. "I've already got one guy in right now, trying his luck, and now Eirik just –" she broke off awkwardly, looking down at her shoes.

"He finally cracked an' told you, didn't he." Berwald said bluntly.

Nora jerked her head up quickly at that, staring at Berwald in shock. "You _knew_?"

"'Course I did. 'T was pretty obvious, with how hostile he was when I asked him for advice –"

"Wait – _what_? He was giving out advice? What for?"

"On how to win you over. He's got this whole list, an' he gives it out to whoever's tryin' to win the bet. S' kinda a crappy list, but it gives the basics. Helped me for 'bout the first month, but after that I was on my own. So, who's the guy that's actually in it?"

"… Søren Nortung," she admitted reluctantly, wincing as Berwald dramatically paled, a look that promised death working its way onto his face.

"Tell me you're kidding."

"N-no, I'm not. I know you don't really like him, but –"

"No. I don't like Anya. I don't like _Caramell Dansen_. I _hate_ Søren. There's a difference," Berwald seethed.

"He's not all that bad, really," she protested, not quite sure why she was sticking up for him.

"No, he's much, much worse than you think he is, Nora. He used to beat me up every day, d'you know that? Not any reason why, he just did. Got so bad I finally snapped."

"Is _that_ why you got suspended, then? You told me it was because of a hockey fight."

"Thought I could get away with it durin' hockey," Berwald muttered furiously, pushing his glasses back up his nose. "Turned out I couldn't. Don't regret it, though."

"So… you think I should break up with him, then?"

"Yeah, I think ya should. He's not a good guy, Nora. He's prob'ly jus' lookin' for some cash, and maybe t' sleep with yeh. At best."

"You really think so?" she asked quietly, sounding a little disappointed.

"Unless he's changed in the last two years, yeah, I do. But if you wanna keep datin' him, you can. Jus' let 'im know that I'll be comin' after him if he hurts yeh."

"But what about Eirik?"

Berwald smirked slyly at her. "There's nothin' in the rules of the bet that says you can't date two people at once, Nora."

* * *

><p><strong>LadyleFae13: <strong>So you're really thinking of extending the bet to two people at once?

**17:** There's not really another option

**17: **Not unless I wanted to completely break it off with Søren

**17: **Which I kind of don't

**17:** Or just completely forget about Eirik's confession

**17: **Which I definitely don't want to do.

**LadyleFae13: **Well, if it were me

**LadyleFae13: **I'd break it off with Soren and get with Eirik.

**17: **Well, it's not you.

**LadyleFae13:** I'm just saying.

**LadyleFae13: **He's not that good a boyfriend, Nora. I dated him too, remember?

**17: **So you think Eirik would be?

**LadyleFae13: **I don't really know.

**LadyleFae13: **It's obvious he cares about you, and I can't really see him mistreating you.

**LadyleFae13: **You deserve someone who genuinely cares for you, and doesn't just see you as a hot piece of ass with a lot of cash attached to her.

**17: **Morgan!

**LadyleFae13: **What? I'm just being honest here.

**LadyleFae13: **It's not as though it isn't true.

**17: **Morgan, shut _up_. He – he thinks of me as more than that!

**LadyleFae13:** Do you know that for sure? Or is he just putting on an act for you?

**17: **…

**LadyleFae13: **Exactly.

**LadyleFae13: **I don't want to see you get hurt, Nora.

**LadyleFae13: **And he's capable of doing a lot of damage.

**17: **I know that.

**17: **I just

**17: **I think I need to see who'd be better for me.

**17:** So I'm going to open it up to both of them.

**LadyleFae13: **I'd talk it over with your mum first, see if she's got a better idea.

**17: **I don't know if that's a good idea.

**17: **She always gets… weird when I talk about the bet.

**LadyleFae13: **Because of your dad?

**17: **More like because I'm getting more action than she is.

**17:** But that too.

**LadyleFay13: **Well, I'd still talk it over with her. She's the one who would know what your dad would've wanted, after all.

**17: **That's true.

**17: **I'll talk it over with her, then.

**LadyleFae13: **Sounds like a plan. I'll talk to you later, then.

**17:** Yeah, ttyl.

"Mama?" Nora asked, quietly stepping into her mother's home office. "I need your help."

"What is it, Nora? I'm kind of busy," her mother sighed, briefly looking up from her work.

"I'm – I'm kind of in trouble."

"That Søren boy didn't get you pregnant, did he?"

"Mama!" Nora protested, blushing furiously. "We – we haven't even – why would you _think_ that we –"

"You're a teenage girl, Nora. I understand that you have desires."

"Mama, _please_, don't start this again," Nora begged. "I'm not pregnant – I - I haven't even slept with Søren, okay? And I might not even."

"Really? The two of you seemed to be getting on well enough."

"We are, but…"

"But what, Nora?"

"Eirik told me that he likes me, too."

"It took him this long?" her mother asked incredulously.

"Don't tell me you knew too," Nora sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration.

"Honey, I'm pretty sure you were the only one that _didn't _know. He's been in love with you since we first moved here."

Nora looked up, her eyes widened in shock. "In – in _love_ with me?" she finally managed to squeak out, completely surprised. "He just said that he _liked_ me!"

"He probably just told you that to lessen the blow," her mother said matter-of-factly. "Now, what's the problem? Can't decide whether or not to dump Søren?"

"Yeah. I was debating whether or not to just open the bet up so that I'm dating both of them at once, but –"

"No, no, don't do that. Not for a long period of time, anyway. You'll just make yourself miserable. Maybe do that for a month, but after that you have to decide."

"I don't know that I want to, though. I talked to Berwald and Morgan, and they both said that I should dump Søren, that he wasn't a good guy."

"If they say he isn't, then he probably isn't, sweetheart. I've never known Berwald to lie, and Morgan is a fairly good judge of character."

"But he's been nothing but nice to me! The stuff they're saying – it sounds like a totally different guy."

"Maybe he's changed. It's up to you, sweetheart. I just think you'd be setting yourself up for heartbreak by dating both of them."

Nora sighed deeply, then said quietly, "you're probably right. It's just – with Eirik admitting how he feels about me, it's just all weird for me. I never thought about him that way before, but now… I can't _stop_ thinking about it. It just – it feels so _right_."

"If it feels right, it probably is right. It's up to you, Nora. You're almost an adult, you can make your own decisions."

"Right," Nora said, sounding a lot more confident than she felt. "I think I know what I'm gonna do."

"Well, good luck, sweetheart," her mother said reassuringly as she turned back to her work.

"I'm going out for a while, I should be back around 11. I'll text you if I won't be," Nora said, starting to head out the door.

"Bring an overnight bag, just in case," her mother called out.

"I – I will," Nora said, blushing again and running up the stairs, where she quickly threw some clothes into a bag and grabbed her keys.

She headed back downstairs, starting to head out the door when her mother called out to her, "Don't forget to be safe! I'm not ready for grandchildren just yet!"

"_Mama!"_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Okay, so I lied about Finland. I'm sorry if anybody was really counting on him being in here. (If it makes you feel any better, he _was_ in the original draft of the first section. He just wouldn't cooperate with me, so I had to eliminate him from the chapter.)

Let me know how this one turned out! I'm still nervous about Sweden's 'accent', to be honest.


	10. 10: In Which Poor Decisions Are Made

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Denmark, Fem!Norway, Fem!England, Netherlands, mentions of Scotland and Sealand.  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> ...Let's just stick with Denmark/Fem!Norway and eventual Iceland/Fem!Norway. Final pairing will be Ice/Fem!Nor.  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M. It's high school, and I'm portraying it as realistically as possible while still making it story-shaped. So yeah, M.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Language. Genderbends. Language. Absolutely blatant references to sex. Teenagers being stupid, hormone-ridden creatures. References to both _Firefly _and _Doctor Who_.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything I reference. Ever.**

**_Chapter 10: In Which Poor Decisions Are Made_**

* * *

><p>"C'mon, die, you fucker!" Søren growled at his TV, pressing random buttons in an attempt to kill the computerized zombie he was facing. "C'mon, that's it, die already you little – AGH!" he screamed as the doorbell rang, jumping about a foot in the air as his character on screen was eaten.<p>

The doorbell rang again. Søren rolled his eyes, paused his game, and got up, untangling himself from the cords of his various gaming systems as he did so.

The doorbell rang again and again. _Whoever this is is persistent as hell,_ Søren thought irritably, opening the door. "Yeah, what – Nora? What're you doing here?" he asked, shocked that she would come over at 9:15 at night and a little embarrassed that she'd caught him without a shirt on and wearing his Spongebob pajama pants. Fucking laundry day.

"I just – I needed to know something. This was a stupid idea, I'll go now –" she said, turning around to go back to her car when Søren caught her by the wrist.

"Uh, no, you do_ not_ get to leave me hanging like that. What did you want to know?"

Nora sighed deeply, trying to gather her thoughts. "I just – if I were to call off the bet right now, say that you'd won, what would you do?"

"Are you thinking about calling it off or something?" he asked, eyes sparkling with poorly-hidden excitement.

"No, I'm just asking, purely hypothetically, what would you do if I did?"  
>"I – I dunno. What kind of answer are you lookin' for, here?"<p>

"Would you break up with me?" she asked quietly.

"Wha – break up with you? You kidding me? After how goddamn hard I worked to get you? Forget about it, no way," he answered immediately.

"And you're not just dating me because of the money? Or because you think I'm hot?"

Søren blanched a little, though it wasn't visible in the darkness of the entryway. "Well, that's why I was initially, but then I got to know you better. It's beyond that now, I guess."

"You guess," she repeated, sounding a little disappointed in him.

"Look, you're fucking gorgeous, okay? I would do almost _anything_ to have sex with you. But I – I respect you enough to wait," he admitted, shocking even himself with his words. "And the money was an awesome incentive in the beginning, but now, I just – I don't really care, yanno?"

"You.. you don't _care_?"

"Not really," he said, shrugging.

That was when Nora tackled him, her mouth on his, causing him to rock back slightly where he stood in surprise, then moving on to deepen the kiss.

"W-what brought all this on?" He asked once they surfaced for air, shocked by her behavior.

"It's a really long story," she whispered, arms still wrapped around his neck. "I don't really want to explain it right now."

"… Okay then. You – you gonna stay over, or goin' back home now?" he questioned somewhat nervously.

"I don't – it's up to you, I mean, if you want me to stay, my mom's not expecting me back or anything," she said, equally nervously.

"W-well, my parents are out for the night, so if you wanna stay, I guess you can…"

"I – lemme get my stuff first. I'll be right back, okay?" she asked as she ran back to her car and pulled a bag out of the passenger seat.

"A-all right," he said weakly, running to his room in order to attempt to clean it before she entered it.

He had just stashed all his walkthroughs and _Shonen Jump _magazines when she knocked lightly on his bedroom door. "Nice room," she commented, setting her stuff down at the end of his bed. He couldn't tell if she was being serious or making fun of him. He suspected the latter.

"So, uh, how do you wanna do this?" he questioned, staring at her as she stripped off her jacket and took off her shoes.

"The usual way, I suspect," she said sarcastically, blushing furiously as she did so.

"Seriously, Nora, are we gonna – are we going to have sex, or what?"

"Would I have said I was staying over if we weren't?" she demanded of him, midway through pulling her t-shirt off.

"I thought you didn't have sex before the third date," he said carefully.

"And I was under the impression that we had technically been dating for at least a month now," she retorted, rolling her eyes and pulling her shirt off the rest of the way. "You've got condoms, right?"

"Wha – oh, yeah, shit, be right back," he said quickly, running into his bathroom and rummaging through the cabinets. "_Shit,_ mom, _don't tell me you got rid of them_," he swore frantically, breathing in a sigh of relief when he found the condoms. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves, before walking back into his room, trying to keep it cool, when he stopped dead in his tracks.

Nora was perched on his bed, wearing nothing but her bra and panties, wearing a look of mixed impatience and boredom on her face. "Took you long enough," she muttered, glaring at him a little bit.

"You are so _bipolar_ sometimes," he sighed, more to himself than to her.

"Nothing I haven't heard before. Are we going to do this or not?" she asked impatiently.

"Oh, believe me, we're doing this," he told her, clicking his light off, pulling off his pants and practically leaping on her.

* * *

><p><em>What have I <em>done_?_ Nora asked herself in abject horror, staring at the ceiling and finally realizing that she had fucked up beyond anything she'd ever done previously. She hadn't felt half this bad when she slept with Berwald – this feeling was more akin to how she felt when Berwald had admitted to her that he was gay.

This was her fault, she admitted to herself. She'd been drunk – drunk off the fact that Søren liked her for _her_, not just because she was hot, not just because she had $950 attached to her.

And she should've known better than to have sex when she was drunk.

Søren continued to snore on without a care in the world.

* * *

><p><em>"You're shitting me, right? She actually had sex with you."<em> Lars said, clearly shocked.

"I am _not_ shitting you. We actually fucked," Søren bragged, swaggering to the fridge and looking for something to eat.

_"I'm so proud of you!" _Lars cooed at him, _"You're actually having a healthy relationship!"_

"Oh, fuck you, man!" Søren spat into the receiver.

_"No thanks. I've got Maddie for that,"_ Lars retorted. Søren could just _see_ the shit-eating grin that his best friend was wearing.

Bastard.

"You're disgusting."

_"You're the one who called to brag that he fucked his girlfriend. Seriously, who does that?"_

"Seriously, Lars. Fuck you, and fuck your noise. You're a douchebag, you know that?"

_"Takes one to know one, douchecanoe."_

Søren hung up abruptly, throwing his phone over to the couch.

"Doesn't take you long to start bragging to people, does it?" Nora asked, seeming to appear out of thin air, fully dressed and with her things packed up.

She looked incredibly disappointed in him. And angry. _But mostly angry_, he noticed, swallowing nervously.

"I – I wouldn't say Lars is strictly _people_," Søren stammered, closing the fridge behind him.

"Well, I _would_. He'll tell Madeline, then she'll tell Alfred, who'll tell Morgan – and then Morgan will be pissed at me for not telling her, and spread it around through Feliks or Eli, and then the whole damn school will know. Thank you, Søren, so very, very much for giving me a reputation as a fucking _whore_," she seethed, walking out the front door and slamming it shut behind her.

Søren stared at the door in shock, before sinking to the ground.

How had things gone so wrong so fast?

* * *

><p>Nora had never before been more grateful that her first speed dial contact was Morgan as she pulled over on the side of the road and hit '1'.<p>

_"Nngh - Nora? What is it?" _Morgan asked, sounding rather sleepy.

"M-Morgan? C-can I come over?" she begged into her phone, trying to choke down tears.

_"What – what the hell is going on? Are you all right?_" Morgan demanded, sounding immediately more awake.

"N-no, I – I'm not all right. I fucked up. I fucked up so badly," she sobbed, shaking in her seat.

_"Where are you? Do you need me to come and get you?"_

"No, I- I'm already halfway to your house. I j-just needed to know if I c-could come over."

_"The front door's open for you whenever you get here; just come straight into my room. I'll let my brothers know not to bug you."_

"T-thanks, Morgan. I'll be there in like, five minutes," she sniffed, wiping away tears with her other hand.

_"Take as long as you need. Just be careful, all right? I don't need you dying on me."_

"All right," she said, hanging up the phone and continuing to drive towards Morgan's house, grateful that the roads were mostly deserted.

She pulled up to Morgan's house about five minutes later, quickly turning her car off and walking to the front door, trying to calm herself down before she went inside and broke down again.

The muffled shouting of Morgan's brothers worked its way outside as she waited.

"Peter, go get the door!"

"Get it yourself, Jamie! I'm in the middle of a game here!"

"You little shit, I'll delete your entire game history –"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"I would too, and break your Halo disc as well!"

"_I'll_ get it! Christ, you two are_ idiots_!" Morgan shouted at the two of them, yanking the door open. "I'm sorry about them. I thought I said you could just come in?"

"You did," Nora confirmed weakly, "I just wanted to pull myself together before coming in. 'S'not going so well."

"It doesn't look like it is. Come on, I'll get you some tea."

"How about some coffee instead?"

"Haven't got any – James finished off the last of it this morning. I've got some more of that citrus stuff that you liked. D'you want that?"

"Sure," Nora replied, sniffling and wiping at her tears.

"All right, just head to my room. I'll let that lot know that we're not to be disturbed," the British girl said, gently shoving Nora in the direction of her bedroom.

"Kay," Nora murmured, shuffling off to Morgan's room and flopping down on her bed.

Morgan entered about 10 minutes later with two cups of tea in hand. "They'll leave us alone."

"What'd you do, threaten to hit them with the cricket bat again?" Nora asked, sitting up and taking the tea from Morgan.

"And that'd I'd make lunch and dinner if they bugged us. Now, tell me, what happened? You look like a right mess."

"I am a mess. A really big, idiotic mess."

"That doesn't tell me what happened."

"I – I slept with Søren." Nora confessed.

"You – oh, _Nora_, why would you do that?"

"I was - I was drunk. There's no other way to describe the way I was feeling." Morgan just sipped at her tea, looking at Nora expectantly. "He – well, I went over to his house, because you and Berwald and even kind of my mom said he wasn't a good guy, but I just – I didn't want to believe it, so I went over to his house to ask him if I called the bet off, would break up with me, and he said that he wouldn't and that I was pretty and that he wouldn't have sex with me unless I wanted to, and I _did_ want to, so we did. But then I realized afterward that we shouldn't have, and I just felt stupid but I still stayed, and then when I got up, he was already talking to Lars about how we'd done it and then I blew up at him and left and now I'm here," Nora explained in one big rush, abandoning the tea and flopping back over in a heap and curling in on herself.

"Oh, _Nora_," Morgan sighed. "It's been a while since you did anything this stupid, hasn't it?"

"I'm not sure I've _ever_ done anything this stupid. It doesn't feel like I have."

"I don't know what to tell you. Did you give him a chance to explain what he was doing?"

"He was _telling Lars that we'd fucked – _his words, not mine," Nora hissed, starting to cry again.

"I did try to warn you, Nora."

"I know, I just didn't want to believe it," Nora choked out, trying to wipe her tears away with no success.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Morgan asked after Nora's sobbing had died down.

"I have no clue. Can I just stay here for a while?"

"Of course. You can stay as long as you like," the British girl informed her as she stood up. "I'm just going to go order Chinese for lunch, and then I'll be right back, all right? We can watch _Doctor Who_ or _Firefly _or something off of Netflix."

"Y-yeah, that's fine. Thanks."

"No problem. I'll be right back."

Nora just laid there, curled up into a little ball, until Morgan came back in. "I ordered Won Ton soup and Orange chicken for the both of us. Hope that's all right."

"Yeah, s'fine."

"You want to watch something off Netflix?"

"Anything to get my mind off of my stupid self," the younger girl sighed.

"Well, all right then. No romantic comedies, I assume?"

"_Hell_ no."

"Didn't think so. _Firefly _or _Doctor Who_?"

"… _Doctor Who_. The new stuff, though. Something with Ten, preferably."

"Any specific companion?"

"Martha or Donna," Nora answered quietly, uncurling her body from the tightly rolled ball she was in. "Not a huge fan of Rose, unless she's with Nine."

"Hm. D'you want to watch the ones with the Master?"

"Nah. The Shakespeare one sounds kind of good. Or the one with Agatha Christie. Or the Pompeii one. I like all of those."

"… _The Unicorn and the Wasp_ it is, then," Morgan replied, queuing that particular episode up.

"Don't be surprised if I fall asleep during it, though."

"If you do, I'm just going to switch the episode. But why would you fall asleep?"

"I didn't exactly get quality sleep last night," the younger girl said, letting out a choked laugh that sounded more akin to a small animal getting run over by a car.

"Got it. I'll wake you up when the food comes."

"I said don't be surprised if I _do_, not that I _would_. I'll probably watch a couple of episodes and then go home and crash."

"No, you'll stay here. Driving while sleep deprived is bad, remember?" Morgan lectured, pausing the show.

"Fine. I'll text my mom and let her know," Nora sighed, pulling out her phone and proceeding to do exactly that.

"I'll warn my parents. We'll get you something for dinner, too," Morgan said, resuming the show.

The two of them lapsed into silence, simply content to watch the antics of The Doctor and Donna.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: _**Here you all are, an extra-long chapter just for you! (The plot bunnies have really been biting lately, which is why you're all getting an update every 3-4 days. This is really not normal for me at all.) I hope you all liked it.

Yes, Nora is really that stupid sometimes. And so is Søren. High schoolers aren't exactly known for their stellar decision-making skills. Especially when it comes to sex.

And Morgan's answer to any problem is tea and _Doctor Who_. Or _Firefly_. (If you have any questions about either show, please ask! I will do my very best to explain. Or direct you towards the proper Wikipedia page.)

Please review!


	11. 11: In Which Søren and Eirik Fight

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Denmark, Fem!Norway, Fem!England, Netherlands, Iceland, Hong Kong, mentions of China, Fem!Canada, America, Korea, and Vietnam. A couple of random placeholder OC's  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> Ice/Fem!Nor, (technically) past Den/Fem!Nor, various others  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M. It's high school, and I'm portraying it as realistically as possible while still making it story-shaped. So yeah, M.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Language. Genderbends. Language. Teenagers being stupid. Language. Fight scene. Language.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything I reference. Ever.**

**_Chapter 11: In Which Søren and Eirik Fight_**

* * *

><p>As Nora had predicted, it didn't take long for people to hear about her weekend sexcapade with Søren. It had spread around the school faster than wildfire, causing all the girls glare at her nastily, groups of them whispering some variation of <em>slut<em> every time she walked past.

Morgan glared fiercely at a group of freshman walking past, all pointing and giggling at Nora. "Shut _up_, you little shits!" she hissed at them, causing them to scatter away frantically.

"Leave the freshies alone, Morgan," Nora protested, looking up from her math homework just in time to see them run off. "They don't know any better."

"I know, that's why they need to be taught better. You don't deserve any of this, Nor."

"Yeah I do. I'm the one who slept with him, right?"

"Yeah, but you're not the one that told Lars. That idiot couldn't keep his mouth shut if there was duct tape over it. And that's also assuming that Søren didn't tell more people besides just him."

"True on all accounts," Nora murmured, finishing off the last problem. "D'you think my mom would let me call in sick for the rest of the week?"

"Not unless you developed a very bad case of the flu all of a sudden."

"_Damn_."

"I'm sorry. I'll try to get them to stop, all right?"

"Sure. Just don't beat anybody up. I don't need you getting suspended."

"Fine, I won't. Can I at least threaten it, though?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Just don't actually _do_ it. I don't think I can make it through this week without you," Nora said quietly, putting her math book back into her bag.

"All right, fine, I won't," Morgan sighed, looking disappointed at the fact she wouldn't be able to beat people up.

* * *

><p>Eirik really hated it when he had to sit alone at lunch. It forced him to resort on eavesdropping on other people's conversations.<p>

"Did you hear about that Nora girl?" One of the girls at the table across from him asked one of her friends.

"You mean that slut that's slept with like, 20 different guys?"

"I hear that each of them pays her $50 to have sex with her."

"Oh, so she's like, a real whore then?

"Shut _up_," Eirik growled at them.

"Well, excuse _you_, nobody invited you into our conversation." The lead girl said snottily

"Well, you're talking about my best friend, so I think I have a right to tell you to _shut the fuck up_," he snarled.

"Gawd, you don't have to be so rude about it," one of the girls said. Eirik just rolled his eyes at them.

It was then that Michael came running up, sliding into the seat across from Eirik. "Sorry I'm late, my dad wanted to talk to me."

"No problem. What'd he wanna talk to you about?"

"Grades. Said that my B in Latin wasn't good enough."

"Seriously? Everybody knows that a B from Vargas is like, an A from anybody else. An A plus, even."

"See, that's what I said, but he was all, _if you don't get it up to an A before second semester, you're dropping the class_. It's completely ridiculous."

"Agreed. But, then again, that's why I dropped the class at the beginning of the year."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Michael said angrily, taking a vicious bite out of his pork bun. "So, you hear about Nora?"

"How she slept with Søren?" Eirik spat, shoving his lunch tray away. "Yeah, I think the whole school has heard by now."

"Kinda surprised you're not there trying to defend her."

"We… we're kind of not talking right now."

"Why the hell not?"

"She picked him over me. I told her that I liked her, and _not even a day later_, she goes and has sex with _him_!" he yelled, unheard by the rest of the very noisy lunchroom.

"… that's not how _I_ heard it," Michael said slyly.

"Well, that's how it happened," Eirik insisted, glaring down at the lunch table.

"Morgan said that Nora was trying to decide between you two, and that she'd gotten advice from several people, including Berwald. Apparently, she just wanted to see if Søren would break up with her if she called off the bet. He said he wouldn't, and – well, she apparently got a little 'drunk', as she put it. Slept with Søren, immediately regretted it, but stayed the night anyway. He then told Lars everything the morning after, and there we have it," Michael explained.

Eirik stared wide-eyed in shock at Michael. "He – he did _what?"_ he finally managed to choke out.

"… Told… Lars… that he and Nora had sex?"

"That's _it_," he growled, getting up and stalking off towards where Søren and Lars were sitting.

"… I'm just gonna finish your lunch, then," Michael called after him, grabbing Eirik's bag of chips off of his tray when no response was received.

"Shit, dude, you might wanna get out of here," Lars advised Søren, watching a very angry Eirik advance on the two of them.

"Wha – why?"

"Just _do_," Lars said frantically.

"Seriously, I don't see what the problem is – yrrk!" Søren protested as his shirt was violently yanked up to cut off his windpipe.

"You, me, that park 5 blocks down from here after school. Be prepared for a lot of pain," Eirik hissed in his ear, releasing his shirt and walking off.

Søren coughed, rubbing his throat as though trying to massage the pain away. "The hell was that about?"

"I warned you," Lars said, shaking his head. "He's pissed you told me, and now you're gonna pay for it in blood."

"B-_blood?_" Søren stammered, laughing nervously. "From _him_? Yeah fuckin' _right!_"

"I'm not kidding. He takes lessons from the Asian kids on how to fight. He knows exactly how to kick your ass."

"Yeah, sure he does. And I'm a sparkly fairy princess. He'll be easy to beat, no problem. If I can beat Berwald's ass, I can sure as hell win against that scrawny little douche," Søren said confidently.

"Fine. Don't come crying to me when you're all beat up and suddenly lacking a girlfriend. _Again_," Lars sighed, picking up his stuff and moving over by Maddie and Alfred.

* * *

><p>"Nora! <em>Nora!" <em>Morgan shouted down the hallway, dodging the other students trying to get out of school.

"What is it, Morgan?" Nora sighed, shoving textbooks into her locker viciously.

"You're not going home! Not yet, at any rate, now come _on_, we've got someplace to be!" Morgan said impatiently, bouncing up and down on her toes.

"Where could we _possibly_ be going?" Nora asked incredulously. "It's _Monday_. There're no parties to go to, nothing to do but go home and do homework."

"You mean you haven't heard? I would've thought it would've made its way around school by now."

"_What?_"

"There's going to be a fight, at that park not far from here. Now _come on_," Morgan demanded impatiently.

"Since when do you care about fights? I thought you gave up on that shit two years ago," Nora said exasperatedly, pulling on her coat.

"Well, yeah, I did, but this is different! This is between Søren and Eirik!"

"W-what?" Nora gasped, dropping her backpack in shock.

"Come on, or we'll miss the whole thing!" Morgan insisted, allowing Nora to pick her bag up and then immediately grasping onto her wrist after that, dragging her out of the school at a run.

* * *

><p>"You sure you want to do this?" Michael muttered to Eirik.<p>

"It's a little too late not to. Half the school's already here," Eirik replied, shrugging off his coat and throwing it on top of his backpack.

"He's probably going to kick your ass."

"With the way that Kym and Yong Soo've been teaching me how to fight? Nah."

"He's got like, 4 inches and at least 50 pounds on you."

"Just means I'm lighter and faster than he is. I'm not worried about it," Eirik said nonchalantly, internally panicking and searching the crowd nervously for Søren, his heart dropping into his stomach when he spotted Nora working her way to the front of the crowd. "Oh, _shit_."

"What? Thinking about backing out now?"  
>"No. Nora's here."<p>

"Well, at least she'll be here to tend to your bloody and broken body when the fight is over," Michael sighed.

"Shut up. You're not helping my self-confidence here."

"That's because this is a _really dumb idea._ If the teachers find out –"

"The teachers can't do shit. We're not on school grounds, and this isn't school hours. They have no power here."

"If my _dad_ finds out, though –"

"He won't. And even if he does, it's not your fault."

"Right. Here he comes," Michael said, jerking his head at where Søren was strutting through the crowd with a cocky grin stretched wide across his face.

"Alright," Eirik said, nervousness sneaking into his voice and making it crack slightly, walking into the middle of the crowd and trying to look like he wasn't bothered.

"Let's get this over with, squirt," Søren said, looking down at him.

_He's got _maybe_ two inches on me, _Eirik thought vainly, bristling at the nickname. "Fine. Some rules first, though."

"Oh my _god_, seriously? You call the fight, and now you're putting _rules_ on it? What, is it a slap-only fight? Gonna fight like a fucking little pussy?" the older boy demanded, rolling his eyes.

"No, that'd be you," Eirik said, smirking as a collective _ohhhh_ went through the collective throng. "No eye-gauging, no weapons, no cheap shots. Otherwise, anything goes."

"Anything goes, huh? All right, maybe you're not as much of a pussy as I thought. Go until one of us can't fight anymore?"

"Count of 10 on the ground," Eirik agreed.

"All right, let's do this then," Søren said, swinging a fist at Eirik, who easily ducked it and rammed one of his own into the older boy's stomach. Søren doubled over for a moment, wincing in pain, then countered with a blow to the side of the younger boy's head, which connected for a split second before Eirik backed up and kicked Søren in the ribs.

The crowd had already picked favorites, a few bright people collecting bets on who would win.

Nora stood anxiously on the sidelines, watching the two exchange blows. She winced visibly when Søren's fist connected with Eirik's nose, making an audible cracking sound. Eirik swore, clutching his nose and backing away, blood dripping down his face.

"What, you done, pussy-boy? Gonna run away like the little fairy you are?" Søren taunted, arms open wide as if to say _hit me with your best shot_.

"No, you fucker," Eirik hissed, steeling himself against the pain, sending one fist into Søren's ribs and the other into his face.

Søren doubled over, falling onto the ground as several of his ribs cracked and his eye seemed to scream in pain. "The _fuck?_" he screamed, getting back up, staggering slightly as he did so.

Eirik just smirked in response, both of his eyes starting to blacken from his clearly broken nose. Søren rushed at him, tacking him to the ground and breaking something in the process. Neither was sure which one of them it was that had broken something, as both of them rolled away from each other swearing in pain.

Nora's eyes flickered back and forth between the two, worry and panic clearly showing on her face.

"Nora, if you want them to stop, all you have to do is say so," Morgan said, glancing over at the other girl.

"Neither of them would ever forgive me if I did," she whimpered, hands coming up to cover her mouth as Søren punched Eirik in the side, the smaller boy groaning as he did so, his breath coming out in a long, white puff.

"This is getting bad. If you're going to call it off, do it now before anything more serious happens."

"I – I can't! People are mad at me enough as it is."

"Nora, they'll just keep going until one of them winds up passing out. Or _dying_."

"I know that! I just – I can't do anything about it," Nora said, shaking her head frantically, blonde hair flying all around her head as she did so.

Eirik had Søren pinned to the ground, one arm behind his back and being twisted upward. Søren was swearing loudly, twisting and trying to get away from the other boy as the crowd counted backward from ten.

The longest ten seconds of Nora's life passed as Søren failed to get out from under Eirik, finally collapsing against the ground as the crowd shouted _ZERO_. Everyone quickly collected their money (if they'd won) or dispersed back to their cars, grateful that the fight hadn't lasted long, because it was getting really cold as the wind picked up.

"I assume you're staying behind to talk to them?" Morgan asked her, shivering slightly.

"Just to Eirik. Looks like Søren's being driven to the hospital by Lars," she said, watching as the tall, spiky-haired boy picked up his friend and dragged him over to a beat-up, stoner orange truck.

"I'll talk to you later, then," Morgan sighed, waving slightly as she walked away.

Nora stomped over to where Eirik was sitting, wincing as he put his coat back on. "What the _hell_ were you thinking?" she demanded furiously, stamping her foot a little bit.

"I was thinking that he was a douche, and I wanted to punch him out for doing that to you," Eirik sighed, gently feeling under his nose for any more blood, wincing in pain as he did so. "Am I still bleeding?" he asked, unable to tell if what came away on his fingers was fresh or leftover from the fight.

"You're not. But you _should_ be. I can't believe you did that!" she yelled, furious. "How the hell am I going to explain this to your parents? How am I going to explain it to my _mom_?"

"You don't have to explain it to mine. _I'm_ the one who's gonna have to do that. As for your mom, I don't know what to tell ya."

"Dammit, Eirik. You didn't have to do that," she sighed, kneeling down so that she was at eye-level with him.

"I did. I know you don't think it was right, but I do," Eirik said gently.

"Fine. Whatever you wanna believe," she spat, clearly frustrated with him. "C'mon. You're gonna need something for your nose."

"S'not that bad. I can just go later –"

"_I don't care how bad you do or do not think it is_. I am taking you to the hospital, and that is final," Nora hissed, fury burning in her eyes. "I heard something crack when he drove you to the ground, don't even try to deny it. And your nose is clearly broken. Now come _on_."

"Nora, I really don't need you to drive me –"

"Eirikur Jonathan Magnusson, _do not argue with me_."

"I'll argue all I want, _Nora Astrid_."

"No. You don't get to argue."

"Why? Because I decided to fight for you? Because last I checked, you didn't really give a shit what I did anymore."

"I _do_ give a shit," Nora yelled, standing up and glaring down at him. "The only reason I showed up here is because I was worried what he was going to do to you, Eirik! Now just let me take you to the goddamn hospital, so I can stop worrying that you're going to pass out from blood loss."

"You weren't here for him?" Eirik asked quietly.

"_Hell_ no! I'm done with him," Nora growled, glaring her eyes at the thought of the other boy.

"Really?"

"Really really. I – I can't forgive him for what he did to me. I won't."

"A-all right, then," Eirik said, standing up and stumbling slightly from dizziness.

"You stay here. I'm gonna go get my car," Nora said, starting to run off towards the school.

"Don't be too long," Eirik yelled after her. "I'm not sure how long I'm gonna be able to handle the cold."

"More like you don't know how long it is until you pass out," she called back.

"Shut up!"

Roughly five minutes later, Eirik was struggling to focus – mostly because his nose _was_ that bad, and his leg was starting to vocalize its pain as well. And his ribs. And also kind of his foot. Well, both of them.

He heard the slamming of a car door, and someone – probably Nora – rushing towards him. "Eirik, are you okay?"

"M'fine," he lied, "We just might wanna get me to a hospital a little bit faster than before, is all."

"Oh, _Eirik_," she sighed, kissing him gently on the forehead, grabbing both his hands, and pulling him up. "Why are you such an idiot?"

"'M only an idiot f'r you," he mumbled.

Nora sighed, leading him to her car. "You gonna be okay to get in on your own?"

"Should be okay."

"All right. I'll go grab your stuff. Just get in, and try not to do anything too stupid, okay?"

"I'll try. No promises. Can we listen to Björk?" he asked, sliding into the passenger seat.

"No."

"C'mon! 'M injured, y' should let me listen to what I want."

"You're injured because you were _stupid_. No Björk for you," she said adamantly, slamming the trunk of her car shut and getting in.

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"_No_, Eirik"

"Gaga, then?"

"No."

"I hate you," Eirik whined, pouting.

"No, you don't," Nora sighed, driving off slowly.

"You _never_ let me listen to either of them."

"My car, my rules."

"_Please, _Nora?" he whined, pouting at her.

"You realize that face doesn't work on me, right? _Especially _when it's covered in blood," she said, slightly grossed out.

"Damn," he swore, pulling the passenger seat mirror down and examining his face. "Aw, _shit, _I didn't know it was this bad! How th' hell am I gonna explain this to my parents?"

"You're going to tell them straight up what you did. You're going to tell them that you were in a fight, that you started it, and that the reason they're paying hundreds of dollars is because you're a chivalrous idiot who won't let a girl stick up for herself," she declared heatedly, driving towards the hospital.

"Nora, I _can't_," he protested, terrified. "Do you know what'll happen if I tell them that? They'll kick me out! I'll be homeless before I even graduate high school! Do you really want that to happen?"

"Of course I don't want that to happen, stupid," she said, knocking him lightly on the top of his head.

"'Kay then," he sighed, leaning back into the seat, looking very worn out and generally miserable.

After a few minutes, Nora pulled up to the hospital. "Okay, we're here. You go down to the ER, and I'll call your mom, okay?"

"Y-you won't tell 'er, right?" he asked nervously, tugging on his seatbelt strap.

"I'll tell her you were in a fight, but you were just defending yourself."

"You're gonna _lie_ t' her? I thought you hated lying."

"I do. But… it's not technically lying," she said, shrugging slightly. "Søren did technically start it."

"… You're amazing, and I love you."

"I know," she said, smiling slightly as she pulled out her cell phone. "Now get in there, before you pass out. I'm just gonna park, and then I'll be in with you."

"Alright," he sighed, reluctantly unbuckling his seatbelt and sliding out. "I'll see you in there, then."

"Yeah."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** And that's all for now!

Thanks for reading, and reviewing, and favoriting and stuff. It means so much to me, you have no idea. My love for you all is So. Very. Large.

If you would continue to do so, it would be even larger...


	12. 12: In Which Things Begin to Resolve

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Denmark, Fem!Norway, Netherlands, Iceland, Hong Kong.  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> Ice/Fem!Nor, (technically) past Den/Fem!Nor, various others  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M. It's high school, and I'm portraying it as realistically as possible while still making it story-shaped. So yeah, M.  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Language. Genderbends. Language. Teenagers being stupid. Language.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything I reference. Ever.**

**_Chapter 12: In Which Things Begin to Resolve_**

* * *

><p>"So, which one of 'em are you here for?" Lars asked Nora, staring over at the clock in a bored manner.<p>

Nora studiously ignored him, attempting to bury her nose in her copy of _The Hunger Games_.

"You can't ignore me forever."  
>"I can try to," she said irritably.<p>

"Look, 'M sorry with how everything went down, all right? It wasn't supposed to get out, but Lexy was listening in, and she told Bella, who posted it on Twitter –"

"I don't care, Lars. What's done is done."

"I'm still sorry. But… you're not here for Søren, are you?" he asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.

"No, I'm not."

"You done with him, then?"

"Yes," she confirmed.

"Shame. You were really good for him. Suppose he does kind of deserve it, though," Lars sighed, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but there.

"You suppose he _kind of_ deserves it?_"_ she asked in disbelief, snapping her book shut. "He shouldn't have said anything to _anyone_. The fact that he did is unforgiveable."

"I'd forgotten how much you dislike having your privacy invaded," Lars sighed. "He was just really excited, okay? Yours was the longest relationship that he'd ever been in, up to that point. And the fact that he was having more than just meaningless sex with you meant a lot to him."

Nora said nothing in response, choosing instead to reopen her book and resume reading.

"I know it's hard on you, all this competition for the bet, but do you even bother to _consider_ our feelings, when you're done with us?" Lars demanded.

"Not really," she admitted, not looking up from her book. "But most of the time, I break it off while we're still on good terms. Or the guy breaks it off himself. I don't usually have to."

"You're really gonna hurt him with this."

"Yeah, well, he really hurt me. Fair is fair."

"You shouldn't blame him for your actions."

"I'm not. I'm blaming him for telling _you_, and then it getting all around school."

"Fine. You at least gonna tell him yourself?"

"I'd forgotten how much you _suck_ when you're sober. All you do is lecture and nag."

"Bitch."

"Takes one to know one."

"I'm glad you're getting with Eirik," Lars spat at her. "You deserve each other. You're both nasty, passive-aggressive little shits."

"So, first I'm good for Søren, and now you're glad I'm done with him? I'm glad you're with Maddie, she's the only one sane enough to deal with you and your bipolar… episodes."

"You're one to talk."

"_Now _I remember why we broke up," Nora murmured to herself, curling up in the fairly uncomfortable hospital waiting room chair and burying herself in the world of Panem.

"Hey Nor," Eirik greeted as he came out into the waiting room. "You been waiting for me this whole time?"

"I just wanted to make sure that your mom came. I didn't see her, but I assume that she showed up, since you're all patched up and they're letting you out," Nora said, standing up and stretching.

"She was working, so she just came down from radiology."

"So, how'd it go? I tried to explain, but she didn't let me get beyond the fact that you'd been in a fight, and that I'd brought you down to the ER."

"Yeah, I figured that much out when she told me I could go home to collect the stuff I really need and that I have to be gone by 9 tonight. We'll negotiate what we're doing later."

"She's kicking you out?" Nora asked, shocked.

"I told you she would, when she found out. She's been looking for an excuse for a while now, I think. Stephen doesn't much like me," Eirik said quietly, looking very young suddenly.

"I'm sorry, Eirik," she apologized.

"It's not your fault. Can you give me a ride back there, though? I'll stay with Michael –"

"No, you won't. You're staying with me, end of story," she insisted, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly.

"Nor, I can't – I don't even know how long this is for."

"Well, you can stay with me until you figure out how it's gonna work, or you get a place of your own. My mom adores you, it shouldn't take much to convince her to let you stay. Now c'mon, let's go get your stuff."

"There's no arguing with you, is there?"

"You never stood a chance," she said, never letting go of his hand as she led him out to where she'd parked her car.

_"So your mom really kicked you out, then?"_ Michael asked incredulously. _"I mean, I saw the post on Twitter, but I didn't want to believe it."_

"Yeah. I don't really wanna believe it either," Eirik answered, sounding a little lightheaded from the pain medication he was on.

_"Where are you at, then? You can stay over here, I'll try to convince my dad –"_

"I'm at Nora's. Her mom agreed that I can stay here as long as I want."

_"Wow, taking things a little quickly, aren't you? I mean, you haven't even started dating yet and now you're moving in together." _Eirik could just _see_ the smirk on Michael's face, which made him very grateful that he was talking on the phone and not in person, because at least then Michael couldn't see him blushing.

"Shut up. She didn't give me a choice. I originally was planning on staying with you, at least for a while, but she wouldn't let me."

_"Damn. You're already so whipped you can't say no?"_

"You have _got_ to stop hanging out with Morgan. And I am _not_ whipped."

_"You so are."_

"If you're not gonna stop being a douche, I'm hanging up."

_"Fine, you do that. I have to go anyway. Dad's getting on my ass about studying."_

"All right, see you tomorrow, then."

_"Bye."_

Eirik turned off his phone, setting it on the bedside table just as someone knocked on the door. "C'mon in," he called, watching the door as it swung open, revealing a very embarrassed looking Nora holding a stack of towels.

"Mom says these are for you, and to let her know if you need anything else," she said, offering them out to him.

"Thanks, I'm good. Can you just set 'em on top of the dresser? The pain meds are makin' me a little loopy."

"Sure," she said, doing exactly that, turning around and starting to head out the door before he made a noise of protest. "What now?" she sighed.

"Can we talk?"

"What about?"

"About – well, _us_," he said, blushing slightly.

"What's there to talk about? You give your $50 to Nicolette – and don't even try to lie to me, I know you have it," she said, watching as Eirik bristled, about to do exactly that, "And you're in. You know how this works, you've been through every single other one with me."

"Yeah, but – is anything going to change between us?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, most everything'll stay the same, but there'll be more – y'know, boyfriend and girlfriend stuff," she said, blushing once more.

"I'm not gonna have much money to take you out," he warned sadly.

"That's okay, I've got Netflix and food here. We don't have to go _out_ out to be dating, you know."

"Well, if you're sure…"

"I am. Get some sleep, all right? The doctors might've said that you're free for the next couple of days from school, but I'm still bringing you your homework."

"Aw, Nor, c'mon!"  
>"I am <em>not<em> letting you get behind on it. Not when we're so close to graduation."

"Fine. I'll do it until I get too dizzy to think," he acquiesced, slumping over onto the pillows underneath him.

"Mkay. G'night," she said, shutting off the light and leaving the room, leaving Eirik to almost instantly fall asleep.

"So, I heard your mom stopped by today," Nora said, carrying in a pile of textbooks. "How'd that go?"

"It went. It wasn't really good _or_ bad," Eirik sighed, looking up briefly from his laptop. "… They didn't slam us with homework, did they?"

"Nah, they're not that mean. I just decided to get them all out for you, in case they did. You're out for the entire week, and chances are you'll get homework in every subject."

"Okay, thank god. You don't need to get my stuff for me, though – I'm injured, not dying."

"Don't care. Are you supposed to be on your computer? I thought you had a concussion."

"I do, but it's not that serious. As long as I'm not on it all the time, I'll be fine. Besides, I'm filling out college applications."

"Really? Where to?" she asked, sitting down on the end of his bed. "I can do it for you, if you want…"

"No, I need to do this on my own. But it's mostly stuff around here. U of M Twin Cities, UW Madison, places with good science programs that won't require much travel if I wanna get home quickly."

"And by home, you mean –"

"I mean here, stupid," he sighed, knocking her lightly on the head. "That was part of the reason my mom came over today. I'm staying here for the rest of the year. I still get my allowance, and my deal with her about the car is still on, but I don't get to live there anymore. I get a month to get everything of mine out of there, and after that she's gonna sell anything that's left."

"… No offense meant, but have I mentioned lately that I _hate_ your mother? You're her kid, just because you screwed up a couple of times doesn't mean you should have to leave."

"None taken. I'm not a huge fan of her either. And it's not just her, it's also –"

"Your step-dad, I know. I'm sorry your family sucks so much."

"Eh, my biological dad's pretty cool. Even if he couldn't come live with my mom, 'cause he lives in Iceland."

"Like I said, I'm sorry your family sucks."

"Nah. I've got you, and your mom, and Michael. S'all I need," he said, reaching for her hand, entwining their fingers together and kissing her hand.

"Flatterer."

"You love it."

"Mmm… yeah, I do," she agreed, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. "But, really? U of M, Madison… did you look at my list before you applied there, or did you just happen to want to go there on your own?"

"A little bit of both. It'd be nice to be there with you, I'm not gonna lie. You get your acceptance letters yet? I know you did early application…"

"Not yet. They should be here within the next week or so."

"Well, good luck. Even though you don't really need it. You'll get in wherever you wanna go, knowing you."

"Okay, _now_ you're just sucking up," she said irritably, whacking him in the shoulder.

"Ow! You shouldn't hit injured people, y'know," he scolded, rubbing at his shoulder.

"Your shoulder is fine. That's why I hit it, and not anywhere else."

"You still shouldn't further injure the already wounded."

"It's your own fault. I didn't ask for you to fight him."

"I know you didn't. I just felt like I needed to anyway."

"I get it."

_"Nora? It's me – shit, I mean – it's Søren. I wanna talk about what happened. Please call me back? Please?"_

"No, no, no. I am not calling you back," she said acidly into her phone, deleting Søren's message. Another nearly identical to it started playing after that. She immediately shut her phone off and threw it onto her bed, falling over onto said piece of furniture after it. "I will not call him back, I will not call him back," she chanted softly to herself, burying her head in her hands.

"You probably should," Eirik said quietly from the doorway. "Y'should at least tell him it's over."

Nora sat upright quickly. "And you should stop sneaking up on me!"

"Yeah, probably, but Nor, c'mon. As much as I dislike him, he deserves better than to be dumped with no warning. At least tell 'im it's over," he said, crossing the room and sitting down next to her.

"I'm pretty sure that running out on him after having sex constitutes as a warning."

Eirik winced. "Yeah, it does. But you've gotta tell him, or he's just gonna keep calling."

"I don't _want_ to, though! I don't want to talk to him ever again," she protested, a hint of frustration sneaking into her voice.

"Do it anyway."

"Why the hell do you want me to even talk to him?"

"Look," he sighed frustratedly, "if you cut off all contact, he'll just keep trying to talk to you. But… if you tell him it's over, he'll probably leave you alone."

"Yeah, _probably_," she said scornfully, glaring at her phone.

"Just talk to him, Nora. Get it over with, so neither of us have to deal with him anymore," Eirik said quietly, looking down at the floor and fiddling with the strings of his hoodie.

After a few moments, Nora sighed deeply and flopped over onto her back, resigned to her fate. "Fine. I'll talk to him, if it'll make you happy."

"It's not gonna make me happy, it's gonna make me a lot less paranoid."

"Whatever. I'll still do it. I don't want to, but I'll do it."

Eirik leaned over and gently kissed her, the tiniest of smiles gracing his face before he got up and ran back to his room.

"You're welcome!" she called after him, smiling slightly before quickly remembering that she'd have to talk to Søren again and swearing under her breath.

* * *

><p>Okay, first off, can I just say how really freaking sorry I am? Because I am so very incredibly sorry.<p>

Let's go with the excuses of "real world stuff" and "writers block". I know they're kind of crap ones, and every author uses them... but guess what, it's my turn to use it.

Once again, I'm so, so sorry.

If any of you have actually stuck around, _thank you so much, _and I'm sorry this is not up to my usual standards. If I have any. I'm not entirely sure I do.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and hopefully the next one will be out sooner than this one.


	13. 13: In Which Relationships Are Discussed

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Denmark, Fem!Norway, Iceland, mentions of Fem!England  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> Ice/Fem!Nor, (technically) past Den/Fem!Nor, various others  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Language. Genderbends. Language. Teenagers being stupid. Language.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything I reference. Ever.**

**_Chapter 13: In Which Relationships Are Discussed_**

* * *

><p><em>"Hey, Søren, it's Nora. Look, I'll stop over at your house after school tomorrow. We can talk stuff over from there. Just… just stop calling me, all right?"<em>

Søren snored loudly from his position on the couch as the doorbell chimed its greeting.

After another few minutes, the doorbell rang again, the person on the other end of the door obviously getting slightly impatient. He gave no reaction to the noise other than the slight twitch of his foot and a slight pause in his snoring.

Another few minutes passed. Søren's phone suddenly buzzed violently in his hand, emitting _Party Rock Anthem_ at a borderline earsplitting level. He jerked to awakeness, accidentally flinging his phone across the couch while cursing the air blue as he moved for the first time in a few hours. His ribs creaked ominously as he stretched slightly, making him stop mid-movement. His phone stopped playing for a few moments, signaling the point where it usually switched over to voicemail, then resumed playing LMFAO.

He scrambled for it, swearing under his breath as his arm, ribs and leg screamed in pain. "H'llo?" he answered, his voice slurred from a combination of sleep and pain medication.

Nora sighed exasperatedly on the other end. _"Søren, surely you know better than to leave a girl out waiting in the cold..."_

"Sorry. Jus' woke up. Key's und'r the mat, y' c'n let yerself in. 'M not really up to gettin' up at this point. H'w long've you been out there?" he apologized, shaking slightly as he moved into a more decent sitting position.

_"Right, of course… I've been out here for about 10 minutes,"_ she said distractedly, fabric rustling in the phone as she knelt down for the key.

"Shit, 'm sorry, Nora. Th' pain meds knock me out pr'tty easily."

_"It's only to be expected,"_ she said gently, unlocking the door and swinging it open, simultaneously hitting the end call button on her phone. "Where do you want me to put this?"

"Back und'r the mat, please," he said groggily, setting his phone down next to him on the couch.

She complied silently, proceeding to picking up a pile of textbooks she had set down while waiting for him to let her in. "Where do you want me to put these?" she asked quietly, biting her lower lip anxiously.

"Jus' set 'em on the table here. Haven't really moved from the couch in a couple 'f days. You underst'nd."

"I do. Eirik hasn't really moved around much either."

Søren scoffed, rolling his eyes in irritation. "Yeah, I bet he hasn't."

"I didn't mean it like _that_," Nora protested, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah, wh'tever. You'n yer new boyfriend 're happy together."

"Well, yeah, but –"

"Just leave poor, stupid Søren to sit here alone, bein' laughed at by the entire fuckin' school for bein' stupid enough to even _try_ datin' the Ice Queen."

"They're not laughing at you! They're laughing at _me!" _Nora said angrily, voice shaking with unshed tears as she dropped the books onto the coffee table, making Søren wince when they landed with a solid – and _loud_ – thud. "I was the one stupid enough to let you get that close! It's not _your_ fault that I was drunk off of my emotions when – when we –"

"Fucked. The word you're looking for is _fucked_." Søren said bluntly.

Nora stared down at the ground for a long few moments, her hair obscuring her eyes. "I was hoping to put it into less crude terms, but yes."

"There's no need t' put it into pretty words, _Nora,"_ he said angrily. "We fucked. Ain't nothin' pretty about it."

Nora sniffled quietly, a couple of tears running down her face as she did so. She wiped them away using her coat sleeve, taking a shaky breath. "It's _"isn't_", moron. And that's not the point."

"Oh, really?" He asked skeptically, "Then what was it?"

"I – I don't even _remember_ now! I just – _shit_, Søren, I don't even – how do you keep doing this to me?" she demanded brokenly, staring over at him with confusion and hurt in her eyes.

"Doing _what?"_

"You just – you unmake me. You surprise me at every turn and you don't fit into a neat little box in my head and you make me do things I don't normally do and I _hate it," _she said vehemently, her tears finally overflowing completely.

Søren stared blankly at her, obviously confused. "I don't make you do _anything_, Nora. I don't think anybody could make you do something you didn't want to."

"B-but you _do_! You make me doubt myself and I can't _think_ around you and I just – I just _can't do this anymore_," she sobbed, her body shaking from how hard she was crying.

"Look, Nora – just – oh, god, just c'mere," he said, shoving blankets aside so there was a seat open next to him.

She shook her head violently, still sobbing brokenly. "N-_no!"_

"Oh my god. Look, I swear to whatever deity-or-lack-thereof y' want I won't try anything, all right? Just c'mere, please? I hate seein' girls cry."

"I – I'll just _go_, then," she wept, turning for the door.

"Don't you _dare_. You're a complete mess, and you probably couldn't see the road right now anyway."

"F-fuck you!" She said weakly, shaking slightly from her tears.

"You already did, and look how well that went over."

"I hate you so much," she said, wiping her face with her sleeves once again as she reluctantly sat down next to him.

"No, you don't. It'd be much easier for both of us if you did," he said somewhat cheerfully, offering her a box of tissues. Nora just sniffled, drawing her knees up to her chest. Søren reached over to try and rub her back before squawking in pain at the movement. "God_damn_," he swore loudly. "The kid of yours sure as hell knows how to hit somebody."

"_The kid'_s name is Eirik."

"Whatever. He's a good fighter. S'good, cause he'll have to fight like hell to keep 'em away from you."

"… I wish you wouldn't say things like that," she said after a few minutes, looking even more miserable than she did before.

"What? S'true. Look, you're – you're really pretty, okay? Probably the prettiest girl at school – scratch that, _definitely _the prettiest, even if your eyes're all red from crying and shit."

"Oh, _thanks_," she seethed, sarcasm dripping like poison from her voice.

"I mean it, though!"

"That makes me feel _so_ much better, you liar."

"I wouldn't lie about somethin' like that, Nora," he said seriously. "I mean it. Y'really are."

"Just – just _stop_, okay? You're not making me feel better at all," she said miserably, twirling a strand of hair idly. "You're making it worse, actually."

"Look, y' don't need to feel guilty about it, alright? I get it. I screwed up big time by tellin' Lars. I just… I wish I got more than one shot, y'know?"

"You and everyone else I've dated."

"Look, I get it. You wanna make it easier on yourself, whatever. But shouldn't it be like… I dunno, a 3 strikes you're out kinda deal? Seems like it'd be more fair to me."

Nora rolled her eyes. "I'm not really a second-chances kind of girl, Søren. You really should have figured that much out by now."

"Hn, yeah, guess I have. I was just wonderin'…" he murmured, trailing off slightly.

"… Just wondering what, exactly?"

"If it doesn't work out between the two of you, can… can we maybe try again?"

"You… after what I did to you? After what _Eirik_ did to you, on my behalf? You really want to try this again?" she asked, staring at him with a mix of confusion and horror.

He smirked slightly, leaning his head back on the couch. "What can I say? 'M somethin' of a masochist. And I'm not sayin' I'm gonna try to wreck your relationship with Eirik, or anything, 'cause I know you're thinkin' I will. Just that if it doesn't work out, I want another shot."

"… _Why?_ I haven't done anything but hurt you. I'm absolute poison. I'm surprised anyone can put up with me…"

"Yer not poison, Nora. Just a little bit… acidic or somethin'. An' we like your sense of humour, as twisted as it is," he said, yawning midsentence and rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Lotsa other things besides just that, but that's one of the biggest."

She scoffed quietly, not believing a word of what he said. "Whatever. Look, the homework you've missed so far is on the table, all right? I'll get going. You look like you need some more sleep," she said as she stood up, resisting the temptation to run her hand through his hair, deciding instead to turn towards the door.

"Mmmmmmn. Yeah. Sleep is good," he mumbled, sitting up a little bit to try and keep himself awake. "Jus' – one more thing?"

"Ah, sure, I guess…"

"C'mere," he murmured, gesturing for her to come closer. She did so reluctantly, walking back over to him slowly and standing in front of him. He leaned up slightly in order to pull her closer to him, then kissed her.

This wasn't at all like their previous ones – those had been pure fire, passion and lust fueling every minute of them. This one was slower, apologetic and sad, and yet somehow much sweeter than any that had come before it. It was filled with a deep longing, and an intrinsic sense of loss.

And, more than anything else she'd ever experienced before, it absolutely terrified her.

After a few moments, he broke away, leaving her to stare at him in shock. "I'm sorry. For everything. Y'can go now, I won't bug you again."  
>"I – uh, all right. I– I'll see you around, then," she stammered, running out the door and to her car.<p>

_To: Eirik_

_From: Nora_

_Going over to Morgan's for a while. Let my mom know if/when you have the chance please. Her phone is out of battery, otherwise I'd tell her myself._

_To: Nora_

_From: Eirik_

_Kk will do. Also there's this thing called 'calling people'. You should try it_

_To: Eirik_

_From: Nora_

_Nope. Calling people is lame. Also, her phone is *dead*, so I can't call her anyway._

_To: Nora_

_From: Eirik_

_All right. Drive safely._

_To: Nora_

_From: Eirik_

_And let me know when you're on your way home plz_

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<br>**Oh my god, guys. I am so incredibly sorry about how obscenely long this took to get up.

My beta and I are still fighting over the content next few chapters. Whenever we finally agree on what's going to happen, I'll finish writing them and put them up.

That being said, there's a poll up for you all to take on my profile, if you're still around. Your answers will have _some_ influence on the outcome of the pairing situation.  
>I <em>know<em> I promised Iceland/Fem!Norway, but the characters are insisting otherwise.

That being said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and once again I apologise for how freaking long this took to finish.


	14. 14: In Which Nora Can't Make Up Her Mind

_**The Tip of the Iceberg**_

**Characters:** Fem!Norway, Fem!England, Iceland  
><strong>Pairings:<strong> Ice/Fem!Nor, past Den/Fem!Nor, mentions of US/Fem!England  
><strong>Rating: <strong>M  
><strong>Genre:<strong> Romance  
><strong>Warnings: <strong>Language. Genderbends. Language. Teenagers being stupid. Language.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything I reference. Ever.**

**_Chapter 14: In Which Nora Can't Make Up Her Mind_**

* * *

><p>"Nora? What are you doing here? I thought you were going over to Søren's," Morgan stated, pulling her dressing gown tighter to herself.<p>

"I did," Nora said briefly, nervously playing with her hair.

"I take it that it didn't go well, then?" the English girl asked, looking her friend over carefully. Nora's eyes were red-rimmed, and she kept glancing around nervously.

"I – I don't _know_!" Nora whined slightly, her breath coming out in a white puff. "That's why I'm here. Unless…" she looked Morgan over carefully. "Is Alfred over or something? I can come back later if you need me to –"

"No, no, it's fine," Morgan interrupted. "I'll send him out for Maccy D's or something. Friends overrule boyfriends every single time, Nora, you should know this by now."

"You sure?"  
>"Looks like you need it. Lord only knows who else you'll try to turn to if you don't come to me."<p>

"It's not like I'd go to Marion. Or anybody else _but_ you, really."

"I know, luv. Let me let Alfred out for a bit, then we can talk, all right?" Morgan suggested, opening the door to her room.

"I'll just, you know, wait out here while you do."

"Right, got it. Be back soon, then."

"Okay," Nora sighed, collapsing into the couch. Morgan entered her room, shutting the door behind her, the sound of Alfred stumbling around for his clothes while Morgan explained to him what was happening coming through the thin walls.

Nora started to idly braid a few thin locks of her hair while waiting, not really paying attention to what she was doing. After a long time of arguing with Morgan, Alfred stumbled out of her bedroom, shooting Nora an irritated glare while running out the door. Morgan came out a few seconds later, shutting her bedroom door behind her and sitting down on the couch, clucking her tongue at the state of Nora's hair.

"This has really got you stressed out, hasn't it? Your hair's a right mess now," she sighed mournfully, taking the poorly braided hair out of Nora's hands. "How do you manage to do this, even? You've got half your head braided – and not even _well_ – and it's only been what, ten minutes?"

"Fifteen."

"Oh, sorry about that. Alfred just didn't want to leave. D'you want me to redo these properly while we talk?"

"Ah, sure, I guess you can if you want to."

"All right then. I'll be right back – and _don't do any more_," Morgan said warningly, disappearing back into her bedroom for a moment, popping out again with a hairbrush in hand a few moments later. "Now, what's all this about? I know you were going over to Søren's today, but beyond that…"

"That's kind of all I've done today. Besides, y'know, breakfast and getting ready and stuff. And driving over here," Nora explained, sliding to the floor so Morgan would be able to redo her hair better.

"I see," Morgan said, starting to untangle one of the braids. "Good _god_, Nora. You've made a complete mess of this. What the hell did he say to you?"

"He – he wants to try again. If Eirik and I don't work out. That's what it all comes down to, I suppose. We yelled at each other for a while, then I started crying, and he – he apologized for the things he had said, and then we talked for a while and he said I was the prettiest girl at school, and I told him I wasn't, but he said I was and that he'd like to try dating me again if Eirik and I break up, and then he kissed me and I just – I didn't know what to do so I came here," Nora babbled, clearly panicking as she twisted her hands around each other.

"Oh, Nora…" Morgan sighed, continuing to untangle the braids. "You're an absolute mess, aren't you?"

"Mm, yeah, I guess I am… I just know that I hate feeling like this?."

"Can you tell me what happened again, but this time a bit more slowly? Didn't quite understand that last."

Nora sighed, closing her eyes and leaning her head back. "All right. I went over to his house and waited for ten minutes for him to let me in. Only reason he didn't let me in any sooner than that was because he was asleep. So I went in, and we just yelled at each other for a while. I started crying, and he felt immediately apologetic, saying that he can't handle crying women or something like that…"

"Wait. He apologized for making you cry?"  
>"Yeah, more or less."<p>

"Well. That's new. Keep going, all right? I've almost got the last one out. D'you want me to redo them properly?"

"Ah, sure, if you want to… anyway, he said that Eirik was a good fighter, that he'd have to be to keep them away –"

"He's right. That money is making you quite the hot commodity."

"_Fuck you_, I don't even want to talk about that, all right? I wish I'd never started the stupid bet in the first place."

"I know. You say that every time you break up with one of them."

"And I mean it every time. I'm not doing anyone any favors."

"That was the idea, was it not?"

"_Fuck. You._"

"No thanks. I've got Alfred for that."

"You're disgusting. Why do I even put up with you?"  
>"Because I'm your best friend, that's why. Now, come on, tell me more. He said Eirik was a good fighter, yeah?"<p>

"Yeah, because he'd have to be to keep them away from me. I said that already."

"I know… I just wanted to hear it again. I think it's rather cute."

"Yeah, you _would_ think that. At any rate, I told him it wasn't true, and he said that it was, because I was the prettiest girl in school. Which is definitely a lie."

"… Not really, if you think about it."

Nora opened her eyes and stared at Morgan in horror. "Not you too!"

"What? D'you _really_ think that money alone would be enough of an incentive for people? Because I don't."

"I'm not! There are tons of better looking girls. Katya Braginskaya, for one – Marion, for two, Prussia and Anita for three and four –"

"The frog and company are too awful, personality wise, to be considered beautiful by most. Really, your only competition is Katya. And that's only because of her tits."

"You're seriously insane," Nora muttered discontentedly, shutting her eyes once more. "Anyway, he said that, I said I wish that he wouldn't say stuff like that because it was making me feel worse, and then he apologized for telling Lars everything and said that if –and only if, he wouldn't try to interfere with our relationship or anything – if Eirik and I broke up, that he wanted another shot."

"So, what'd you tell him?"

"I… I didn't say yes?"

"But you didn't say no, either." It wasn't a question.

"… No… I said he was crazy and he told me he was a masochist so that it was okay. I left him his homework, but before I got the chance to leave, he called me back, and then…"

"He kissed you?"

"Yeah. And it wasn't a_ 'oh god you're so hot let's get back together'_ kiss. It was a '_oh god I'm so sorry please forgive me I think I might love you'_ kiss. It was terrifying, and I'm not entirely sure that I don't want it. A relationship with him, I mean."

"I don't blame you. He actually sounds like he's doing a lot better than he was. Granted, it's been a few years since I dated him, but… it looks like you're actually changing him for the better."

"… Really?"

"Really. In fact, you might say that he's changed for g–"

"Morgan, if you start quoting _Wicked_ at me, I am going to steal your copy of the soundtrack and delete it off your iTunes and iPod. I mean it." Nora interrupted, turning around and glaring at the English girl intensely.

"Oh, fine. Ruin all my fun, why don't you. But I do mean it. He's a lot better than he used to be, and I think that's because of you. He never kissed _me_ like that."

"Yeah, all right, that's great, and I'm actually kind of glad he hasn't and all… but that doesn't answer the question of _what the hell am I going to do?_ I'm not even sure I want a relationship with Eirik now because of him. I don't even know what I want anymore,"

"… Well, there is _one_ fairly easy solution. Well, a number of them, really, but the one I have in mind would really be the easiest."  
>"I'm kind of deathly afraid of what you have in mind."<p>

"No, no, it's really quite straightforward – almost _genius_ in its simplicity, if I do say so myself!" Morgan exclaimed excitedly, her eyes flashing dangerously with excitement.

"Really not giving me warm fuzzies here, Morgan."

"You should have sex with Eirik."

Nora sat straight up at that, whipping her head around to stare at Morgan like the other girl had suddenly grown two heads. "_What? _Are you insane? That's – I don't - what the _hell_, Morgan! I am _not_ having sex with him, not yet!"

"No, no, hear me out! If it goes well, you keep dating him. If it doesn't, break up with him, but call the bet off so that he technically wins. That way you can date Søren and not feel even remotely guilty about it."

"Maybe that's how it would work for _you_. I can't get away with that. I may be the Ice Queen, but I still have emotions. Guilt is one of them."

"Oh, fine. Let's see you come up with a better idea, then."

"… I don't have one. But… I don't know. That one just feels a little bit wrong. It's too early in our relationship to even consider… _that_."

"It's sex, Nora. The horizontal mambo. The nasty. Making the beast with two backs. Whatever you'd like to call it, you've done it before – several times, in fact. Don't be such a prude about it."

"You're disgusting. And… I know, it's just – it's _Eirik._ I haven't really transitioned from my old mentality of him yet, all right? Thinking about having – having sex with him is just kind of, well, _weird_," Nora explained, settling back in and letting Morgan finish her hair. "Besides, look how well that went _last_ time."

"Yes, yes, all right, you've made your point. Just consider it, all right?" Morgan asked, privately thinking that if Nora couldn't transition out of her old mentality of Eirik that their relationship wouldn't work out at all.

Nora let out a quiet whine. "Oh, fine. Whatever. I guess I'll think about it, even though it's probably a horrible idea."

"That's a good girl. Now, would you rather watch _Doctor Who_ or _Sherlock_ while I finish these off?"

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

_To: Eirik_

_From: Nora_

_On my way home now._

_To: Nora_

_From: Eirik_

_All right. Drive safely. See you when you get here ;)_

_To: Nora_

_From: Eirik_

_Fuck sorry about that I meant :)_

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

"So, how'd it go with Søren?" Eirik asked, popping his head into Nora's room.  
>"It… went, I guess. I don't really want to talk about it," she answered, not looking up from her AP Government homework.<p>

"Okay then. You'd tell me if something happened, right?"

"… Of course I would, Eirik."

"All right. Let me know if you change your mind, and you want to talk about it after all," he said quietly, exiting her room and shutting the door behind him.

"I'm not going to," she muttered, forming the blank sheet of paper in front of her into two columns. She jumped slightly as her phone buzzed, signaling a text.

_To: Nora_

_From: Morgan_

_You'd better not be making one of those stupid pro con lists again. You are not Rory Gilmore._

Nora sighed irritably, typing out her response quickly.

_To: Morgan_

_From: Nora_

_Says who? Besides, I do what I want._

Morgan's response came a few minutes later.

_To: Nora_

_From: Morgan_

_You're not Lady Loki, either. STOP MAKING THAT LIST._

Nora ignored the text, continuing to make her pro/con list as if nothing had bothered her at all.

**-o-o-o-o-o-o-**

A week later, Nora still hadn't her decision.

"Nora? Can I come in?" Eirik asked quietly, standing in her doorway and fiddling with the strings of his hoodie.

"I don't know, _can_ you?" She asked him sarcastically, staring at her laptop in concentration.

"Fine. _May_ I come in?"

"Yeah, of course. Why are you suddenly asking? You normally just come in."

"Well, you've kind of been avoiding me lately, and I didn't want to bother you... but, did I do something wrong? Because we haven't really talked at all since last Saturday," he stated nervously, perching lightly on the end of her bed.

"No! No, of course not. I'm just… kind of stressed out right now. You should know by now that my first reaction is to hide away from everybody."

"Oh. Right. Kinda forgot that, I guess," he said apologetically, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, uh, is there anything that I can do to make you, well, less stressed out?"

Nora shrugged slightly. "Dunno. Probably not. You're welcome to give it a shot, though, as long as it doesn't distract me."

"What are you working on, anyways? English project?" He asked as he got up, scooted behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his head on her shoulder, idly watching her type.

"I wish, but no. College essay," she explained, deleting a sentence she wasn't pleased with from the middle of the page.

"Ah. Where to?"

"This one's for UW Stout."

"Ah. For the Illustration program, right?"

"Yeah. Maybe the English program as well, but I haven't decided yet."  
>"It's up to you. Looks pretty good, from what I can see of it…"<p>

"I'm not happy with it," Nora grumbled, scowling at the screen as if it had personally offended her.

"You're never happy with your writing," he replied matter-of-factly, burying his nose into her shoulder.

"That's not true!"

"Yeah, it is. Even if you say you are, you eventually go back and look at it again and immediately hate it."

"… Stop being right all the time," she demanded irritably.

"Nope."

"… Please?"

"Still no. You're too adorable when you're angry for me to stop."

"I am _not _adorable," she protested angrily.

"Yeah, you are. Tiny, addicted to caffeine, and adorable."

"Eirik, shut _up_. The idea was that you de-stress me, not distract me!"

"All right, all right, so-_rry_," he apologized, a note of sarcasm in his voice. Nora typed in silence for a while before Eirik piped up again. "So, what else is up? You don't generally avoid people over essays."

"… Don't want to talk about it."

"It's something to do with Søren, isn't it? Because you've kind of been avoiding me all week, and I know something was up. You came back with your head completely braided, which means that you were stressing out and messing with your hair again, and Morgan had to redo it. So what happened?"  
>"What part of <em>I don't want to talk about it <em>do you not understand?" she asked, turning around and glaring at him.

"The not wanting to talk about it. C'mon, we used to tell each other everything. Why won't you talk to me about this?"

"No, we didn't. You never told me you liked me."

"I thought you were over that."

"No, I'm not. And I'm not talking about last Saturday."

"Fine. Be that way. I see how it is," he declared grumpily, pulling away from her slightly.

"I just don't want to talk about it, okay? It didn't go spectacularly well, and I don't want to be reminded of it," she sighed.

"Then just _say_ that!"

"I thought it was implied."

"You – _augh_. No. It wasn't. Why does everything have to be five layers of subtlety deep with you?"

"It's always been that way. And it's not five layers deep for you. Only three."

"Well, I don't feel like playing _Inception_ just to try to understand what's going on in your head. Why can't you just say things straight out?"

"Because that would be too easy…" she sighed, saving her essay one last time and shutting her laptop.

"Mmm, of course it would," he said, burying his face into her neck and trying to keep himself from exploding in frustration at her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **

Sorry that the first half is recap of last chapter. Writers block has _not_ been kind to me, and I'm working through it in any way that I can.  
>Anyway, hope you liked it! And please, if you haven't already, go vote in the poll I've got up. The ultimate pairing hangs in the balance.<p> 


	15. In Which There is a First Date

**_Chapter 15: In Which There Is a First Date _**

"Dude. When I said that you should try to date her, I didn't mean that you should get your ass kicked multiple times in order to try to earn her forgiveness or something. Seriously, bro, what exactly are you tryin' to prove here? That you're a good person, or what?" Lars demanded impatiently, offering Søren an icepack that he'd fetched out of the freezer.

"Fuck you, man. You just… you don't get it," Søren swore as he took the icepack from Lars. He winced from the sudden cold as he placed it over his re-blackened eye.

"No, I don't. I did the bet too, but I don't think anybody other than Marion Bonnefoy has tried to win her over as much as you're doing now. And the only reason Marion's tried so much is because she hates backing down from a challenge."

"What's your point?"

"I don't think she's worth all the effort you're putting into this. You're trying too damn hard, man."

"Yeah, that's where you're wrong. She _is_ worth it," Søren insisted fiercely.

"She's worth getting your ass kicked. Multiple times."

"I gave as good as I got, you fuckass."

"Right. That's why Oxenstierna came away clean, and you probably rebroke your ribs or something," Lars said dryly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Dude, I don't need an angry Tino on my hands. That is the _very_ last thing I want. Actually, 'm pretty sure that that's the last thing _anybody_ wants. And I didn't rebreak my ribs, 'cause nothin' cracked this time. An' he didn't leave totally unharmed!"

"Yeah, a bruised cheekbone is not exactly a badass injury."

"I'm pretty sure I cracked his jaw, too. _Somethin'_ cracked."

"Okay, look, I don't give a shit if you beat him up. The point is, I don't think that Nora is worth all this effort you're putting in. Just – just give it up, man."

"Nope. Not happening."

"She's not worth it. What do you even see in her, anyway? She's a cold, heartless bitch."

Søren glared up at Lars, fury blazing in his good eye. "She's not heartless."

"Really? How do you even begin to explain the bet, then? She dumps guys without even a second thought, doesn't feel anything like guilt after she does. C'mon, man, _look_ at what she did to you! She doesn't give a shit about anybody but herself."

"Her dad asked her to start it before he died. It was his way of making sure a guy was good enough for her without actually being around."

"Doesn't explain how she can just throw guys away like they're meaningless to her."

"How do you know that's what she does? How do you know that she doesn't feel anything when she dumps them? Can you read her mind now, _Cullen_?" Søren asked mockingly, grinning humourlessly as Lars bristled in indignation (he never appreciated being made fun of for looking quite a bit like Robert Pattinson). "She's not emotionless, any more than you are. She's just really good at hiding how she feels. Like you. Like Berwald. Like – well, half the people we know, really, when ya think about it."

Lars scowled at Søren for a long few moments, his hazel eyes simmering with the faintest traces of anger. "Fuck you."

"I'd rather you didn't. I like you, man, but I don't like you that much."

"Seriously, Søren, stop kidding around. She's not worth it."

"She is worth it! You just don't see it because – I dunno, you never got over her dumping your ass. Or something."

"She did the same thing to you! Or have you already forgotten?"

Søren rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. "No, I haven't, but _you're_ forgetting that _I deserved it._"

"Holy _shit_," Lars breathed, clearly shocked, "You're actually in love with her, aren't you?"

Søren considered this for a minute or two before answering quietly. "I… yeah. I think so. Pretty sure. All the songs're makin' sense, and apparently that's when you know. At least, that's what Marion says."

"I can't believe you. You dated her for what, two months, not counting the initial period?"

"It was three and a half months, not two. What's your point? It took you less time for that to fall for Maddie."

"I wasn't going after Madds for a bet," Lars said pointedly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Also, it's pretty damn creepy that you kept track."

"It's not creepy ! I had to. Six months of dating meant winning the bet. But, look, just 'cause I wanted the cash first doesn't mean I didn't fall for her after that. It wasn't about the money by the end of it."

"You are such a _cliché_," Lars sighed, scoffing quietly in disgust.

"Your _mom_ is a cliché," Søren retorted childishly as he adjusted the icepack slightly, feeling slightly wounded by Lars' disbelief in him.

**LadyleFae13:** I know you're not on right now, but there's something you ought to know…

** 17:** Actually, I am, but not for much longer.

** 17:** So… what's up? Make it quick, please, I still haven't done my makeup.

**LadyleFae13:** Soren's still trying to win you back.

**LadyleFae13: **Also makeup? Really?

** 17:** … I…. already knew that…?

** 17:** And, yes, makeup. Apparently I need to "look nice". For a "surprise".  
><strong> 17: <strong>And he knows that I HATE surprises.

**LadyleFae13:** I know you do, too. And before you ask, NO I DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING.

** 17: **Damn it all. I was hoping you did.

**LadyleFae13: **Sorry. You know I don't really get along with him. ANYWAY.

**LadyleFae13:** He's REALLY trying to win you back.

**LadyleFae13:** Like, apologising to everyone he's hurt in the past four years to make himself look better in your eyes.

**LadyleFae13: **that's how hard he's trying.

** 17:** and your point is?

**LadyleFae13: **that includes Berwald.

** 17:** … I call bullshit.  
><strong> 17: <strong>There's no way. He and Berwald HATE each other.

** 17:** I would think that not even I could change that.

**LadyleFae13:** I'm serious!

** 17:** And where did you get this information from?

**LadyleFae13:** Tino.

**LadyleFae13: **He tried calling you, but apparently to no avail?

** 17:** … Oh. So he did.

**LadyleFae13:** He said he left you a voicemail. He only called me because he thought you might be here, getting ready.

**LadyleFae13: **Which, obviously, you're not.

** 17: **So… it's definitely true, then.

**LadyleFae13:** Yeah.

** 17:** That… definitely wasn't the kind of info I was looking to find out before my real first date with Eirik.

**LadyleFae13:** … I know, and I'm truly sorry, Nora.

**LadyleFae13: **I just thought that you should know sooner rather than later.

** 17:** … I really could have waited to know about this.

** 17:** But… thanks for telling me, I guess.

**LadyleFae13:** Best of luck on your date, Nora.

** 17:** Thanks.

** 17:** I'll talk to you later, I guess.

Eirik nervously tugged at the sleeves of his button down shirt, making sure that the edges were just peeking out of his jacket sleeves, anxiously pacing back and forth the whole while.

He wondered if wearing his Chucks would be too over-the-top for his look. He'd already spiked his hair up properly, and it didn't help that the only suit he owned was pinstriped. He didn't want Nora to think he was deliberately trying to look like the 10th Doctor.

… Even though he was, kind of. Not that he'd admit it, if she asked. Probably.

His thoughts were violently interrupted by Nora knocking quietly on his door. "Eirik? You ready to go?"

"Uh, yeah, almost, just a sec!" he said, panicking slightly, searching around for his dress shoes. After a minute he decided to forget about that option and just pulled on his Converse, taking deep breaths as he did so to calm his rapidly fraying nerves. He tied his shoelaces quickly, then got up and opened the door, his jaw dropping slightly at the sight of her.

She looked gorgeous – well, not that she didn't always look gorgeous to him, but she was especially so tonight, with her hair halfway pinned back with an old, ornate silver cross pin and curled up into loose ringlets and wearing a dark blue dress that _really_ showed off her curves.

It halfway made him want to stay home and not have to share her with anyone else. Ever.

"Oh, good, I was wondering how much longer you were going to be. You look… nice," she said quietly, idly twirling a strand of her hair, like she always did when she was anxious.

"I – uhm, thank you, I think? You look – uhm, you look really amazing," he replied, smiling nervously at her.

"Mm, thanks. So, was it your goal to look like the Doctor, or did it just happen that way?" she asked teasingly, still fiddling with her hair.

"It just – kind of happened that way? I couldn't find my dress shoes, or I'd be wearing them," he said mournfully, staring down at his feet awkwardly.

"It's okay, I'm not complaining or anything! I was just wondering. Really. You look really good. If you're the Doctor, then… well, I suppose I can be your Rose, for tonight at least."

He stared at her for a long few minutes, completely stunned. "I – What? But you never – just, what?"

"You heard me."

"I thought – wait a minute. You're just trying to get me to spill what we're doing tonight, aren't you?" he asked, glaring at her suspiciously.

She sighed, clearly disappointed. "I almost had you there for a second, too. Damn it all."

"I _told_ you that it was a surprise."

"With real confetti this time? The good stuff?"

"No, no confetti," he answered, slipping his wallet into his jacket pocket. "Now, c'mon, or we're gonna miss our train."

"… So we're going into the city, then?"

"Yeah. And that's the most you're going to get out of me. You've got your ID, right?" he asked, grabbing his coat off the coat rack as he made his way out the door, shrugging it on as he headed outside.

"Yeah, I've got it. You're sure you can't tell me any more than that?" she wheedled as she pulled on her heavy blue wool trench coat, a slight whine in her voice.

"I'm sure, Nora."

"C'mon, Eirik, please? You _know_ how much I hate surprises…"

"Look, I promise you'll be okay, okay? It's a good surprise," he tried to assure her, looking up at her from the bottom of the stairs.

"There's no such thing," Nora declared, pouting at him.

"Sure there is. Now, c'mon, let's go."

"Not until you tell me what we're doing."

"Nora, c'mon, what are you, _five_? Look, we're taking a train into the city. You now know one step of the plan. Can we go now?"

"… Fine. I don't see why you can't just tell me what we're doing."

"I told you, that would ruin the surprise!" He groaned, shoving his hands in his pockets. "We're gonna miss the train, and if we do, that'll pretty much ruin everything I've got planned."

"Oh, fine," she sighed, pulling her keys out of her coat pocket and handing them over to him. "Promise you'll tell me as soon as you can?"

"I'll see what I can do."

"You're – oh my god, Eirik, you're taking me to see Phantom?" Nora asked excitedly, her voice barely audible over the crowd congregating in front of the doors.

"Yeah. They had student rush tickets, and I just – I figured that it was a good option…"

"It's absolutely perfect, Eirik. You're just… how did I get so lucky?"

"I have no idea. So, it's a good surprise, then?"

"It's brilliant. I'm sorry for doubting you."

"It's fine, Nora. I'm just glad you're happy," he said, slowly moving to grab her hand.

"It's Phantom, Eirik. Of course I'm happy about it!"

"Oh, good. I was - I was kind of worried about it. Really worried about it, actually."

"Well, you did brilliantly. Best official first date I've ever been on, and it's barely started," she gushed, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet in happiness.

Eirik stared at her with a mix of happiness and shock. "Y-you mean it?"

"I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it, Eirik."

"Oh. Right. Duh. Sorry, I'm kind of stupid. I'm glad you're happy about it, though," he muttered, giving her hand a light squeeze.

"It's all right. You're allowed a few moments of stupidity. So what time does the box office open? It's kind of freezing out, and also starting to snow," she complained, looking up at the sky with distaste.

"Should be any time now. Don't start with the whining, or I'm going to take you home," he threatened, nudging her lightly with his elbow.

"I'm not going to start whining! I'm just saying, it's cold and it's snowing. Neither are exactly favourable conditions for waiting in line," she stated, nudging him back.

"Yeah, yeah. Just don't start, okay?"

Nora rolled her eyes dramatically and let out a small sigh. "Okay, fine. I'll try not to."

"That's all I need."

"Hey, the line's starting to move! _Finally!_" she yelled happily, jumping up in down in excitement.

"Brilliant powers of deduction, my dear. Next you'll be solving murders and wearing a goofy hat with earflaps," he said dryly, grinning at her wryly.

"I am not going to start wearing a deerstalker, Eirik. That's completely ridiculous. I'm not Sherlock Holmes."

"That's good. Those hats are stupid, anyway. You ready for this?"  
>"Never been more ready in my life, Eirik. Thank you <em>so much<em> for this," she gushed, staring up at the sign with nothing but pure, unadulterated glee in her eyes.

He grinned back at her, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. "You're welcome, Nora."

"So, what'd you think, then?" Eirik asked quietly, entwining his fingers with Nora's as they walked out of the theatre.

"It was brilliant! I knew it was going to be, of course, I mean it's _Phantom_, but – god, the sets were absolutely _brilliant_! I mean the whole staircase scene – god, what I would _do _to get behind the scenes and see how that works, and I don't even _like_ math and physics! And the _costumes, _oh my god, they were absolutely gorgeous – I'm sorry. I'm babbling, aren't I?"

"You are," he confirmed, grinning at her. "That's okay, though. It's cute."

"I guess the point is… this was perfect, Eirik. Thank you," she murmured, kissing him lightly on the cheek and squeezing his hand gently at the same time.

"You're welcome, Nora. I'm glad you liked it."

"_Liking _it is an understatement. Seriously – this was the best first date ever."

"Better than Søren's?"

"God, _so_ much better than his. I mean, come on, he took me to _Thor_."

"Oh, god, I forgot about that."

"Thought you might have."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **And out of nowhere, after months and months of no activity, comes an update!  
>I'd blame life happening, but... well, the truth is, it's hard to write for a high school AU when you're in your second year of college.<br>I'm seriously going to finish this up for Nanowrimo, though. Maybe two more chapters, and I'm calling it done.


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